Community & places · Inner West Council
Inner West veterans offered free recreation entry during Veterans’ Health Week
Councillors also ordered a December report on extending existing community-facility concessions to DVA Gold and White Card holders, but no permanent discount has yet been approved.
Reporting from draft minutes. Recorded wording may change when confirmed. How this article was prepared
Veterans with Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold or White Cards will be eligible for free entry to Inner West Council sport, recreation and aquatic programs during Veterans’ Health Week under a resolution passed on 20 October.
The council also requested a report for its December 2026 Ordinary Council meeting on extending existing concessions at community facilities, including aquatic and leisure centres, to DVA Gold and White Card holders.
That report will consider a possible change to the council’s Fees and Charges framework. The resolution does not approve a permanent concession, specify a discount rate or say whether family members would be covered.
The minutes also note that rates rebates are already available to holders of certain DVA Gold Cards under the Local Government Act. They do not state the dates of Veterans’ Health Week, how participants will verify eligibility or the cost of the free-entry program.
The motion was moved by Councillors Mat Howard and Liz Atkins and recorded as carried, with 15 councillors listed as voting for it and none against. The minutes are identified as unconfirmed.
What deserves a closer look
The record separates an approved Veterans' Health Week free-entry measure from a proposed broader change to ongoing concessions.
The resolution does not provide the dates, eligibility-check process, financial cost, concession rate or family eligibility for either the future framework change or the free-entry arrangement.
Questions for follow-up reporting
What dates will Inner West Council apply to the Veterans' Health Week free-entry offer?
What concession rate and participating facilities will officers recommend in the December Fees and Charges report?
Will dependants or family members be eligible, and what budget or revenue effect will the proposal have?
What happens next
Council is to provide free entry to its sport, recreation and aquatic programs during Veterans' Health Week.
A report is due at the December 2026 Ordinary Council meeting on extending existing community-facility concessions to DVA Gold and White Card holders.
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
Council resolved to provide free entry to all Council sport, recreation and aquatic programs during DVA's Veterans' Health Week.
Motion Carried For Motion: Crs Antoniou, Atkins, Barlow, Blake, Byrne, Carlisle, Clay, D'Arienzo, Fergusson, Howard, Macri, Raciti, Scott, Smith and Tastan Against Motion: Nil C1026(1) Item 35 Notice of Motion: Recognition of Veterans in Inner West Council Community Services Motion: (Howard/Atkins) That Council: 1.
Item 35 heading and motion
Open original minutes ↗The council requested a December 2026 report on amending the Fees and Charges framework to extend existing concessions to DVA Gold and White Card holders.
3. Provide free entry to all Council sport, recreation and aquatics programs during DVA's Veterans' Health Week. 4. Provide a report to the December 2026 Ordinary Councill meeting to amend Council's Fees and Charges to extend the current concession frameworks for Council Meeting 20 October 2026 17 Council community facilities, including aquatic and leisure centres, to include holders of DVA Gold Card and White Card holders.
Item 35, resolution points 3 and 4
Open original minutes ↗The resolution notes rates rebates for holders of certain DVA Gold Cards under the Local Government Act.
Recognises the service of Veterans and their contribution to the community. 2. Notes that rates rebates are available to holders of certain Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Gold Cards (as set out in the Local Government Act).
Item 35, resolution point 2
Open original minutes ↗The motion was carried with 15 councillors listed for it and none against.
Motion Carried For Motion: Crs Antoniou, Atkins, Barlow, Blake, Byrne, Carlisle, Clay, D'Arienzo, Fergusson, Howard, Macri, Raciti, Scott, Smith and Tastan Against Motion: Nil C1026(1) Item 36 Notice of Motion: Ashfield-Leichhardt NSW State Emergency Service Motion: (Howard/Atkins) That Council: 1.
Item 35 voting record
Open original minutes ↗The supplied minutes identify themselves as unconfirmed.
Item 51: Kevin Crawshaw Birchgrove Item 52: Lyndal Gowland Dulwich Hill Unconfirmed minutes from the Ordinary Council meeting held on 20 October 2026.
Closing line of the minutes
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from Inner West Council’s unconfirmed public minutes for the Ordinary Council meeting held on 20 October 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- Council resolved to provide free entry to all council sport, recreation and aquatic programs during Veterans’ Health Week.
- Council requested a report to the December 2026 Ordinary Council meeting on extending existing community-facility concessions to DVA Gold and White Card holders.
- The motion was carried with all listed councillors voting for it and none against.
- The resolution does not specify the proposed concession rate, a cost estimate, eligibility for family members or the dates of Veterans’ Health Week.
- The council’s existing rates rebates for certain DVA Gold Card holders were noted in the resolution.
Why it matters
- Eligible veterans may access council sport, recreation and aquatic programs without an entry fee during Veterans’ Health Week. Any broader or ongoing concession would require a further council decision after the December report.