War graves
Unidentified members of No 5 Company of the Australian War Graves Detachment at work digging graves at the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery. C971051
Location of graves
Australian servicemen and women who have died in conflict have been buried in 83 countries including Australia. Memorials to the missing commemorate those who have no known grave.
Responsibility for maintenance
War graves are maintained by the Office of Australian War Graves (Department of Veterans' Affairs), many by arrangement with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Office of Australian War Graves also offers advice on
- visiting war cemeteries
- finding the location of individual graves
- obtaining photographs of graves
- using a service badge on private memorials
Memorial plaques
Eligible veterans are entitled to official commemoration in the form of a memorial plaque. "Eligible veterans" include
- those who died as a result of operational service
- Victoria Cross winners
- those receiving a Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI) pension
- multiple amputees with proven war service
- ex-prisoners of war
The Office of Australian War Graves can provide more information about eligibility.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Register
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains a database of the names and places of commemoration of men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the First and Second World Wars. The database can be searched via their website.
Further Information
- Office of Australian War Graves
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission Register
- Commemorating our post-war dead
- Permission to use the Service Badge
- Eulogy requests (Australian Defence Force)
- Vales and service histories
Vietnam Veterans & Veterans Federation ACT Inc website includes information on eulogy services for ex-service members - War service information
National Archives of Australia fact sheet 63 - War cemeteries in Australia
- War memorials
- Graves and memorials of Australians in the Boer War 1899–1902
Provides photographs of graves and memorials and a database of names for locating gravesites - Establishing Gallipoli's Graves (Australian War Memorial blog post regarding the work of the Graves Registration Unit and Imperial War Graves Commission at Gallipoli)