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Not everyone can make it to a dawn service, local march, or RSL on ANZAC Day. Work, family commitments, distance, health, or maybe you just want a quiet commemoration at home. The good news is paying your respects does not depend on being in a crowd.
ANZAC Day remains one of Australia and New Zealand’s most significant national occasions, honouring the service and sacrifice of those who have served and continue to serve. Whether you start before sunrise or take a moment later in the day, there are meaningful ways to mark it from home.
Here are five ways to commemorate ANZAC Day without leaving the house.
1. Livestream the National Dawn Service
If you cannot make it in person, watching from home remains one of the most meaningful ways to mark ANZAC Day.
ABC typically provides comprehensive national coverage each year across ABC TV, ABC NEWS, ABC iview, ABC Radio and the ABC listen app, including major dawn services, marches and international commemorations.
Coverage usually begins before sunrise with live broadcasts from cities such as Sydney and Canberra, followed by local marches later in the morning. Services from Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux are often included as well.
If you would rather follow your local city commemorations, most capital city marches are usually broadcast or streamed live as well.
The easiest move is to check the ABC schedule or app the day before for current times in your state.
For plenty of Australians, this has become part of the ritual. Kettle on, house quiet, volume up just before first light.
2. Light Up the Dawn
We first learned about “Light Up the Dawn” in 2020 as part of COVID-restricted commemorations. The national RSL-endorsed Light Up the Dawn campaign is one of the best ways to recognise ANZAC Day at home. The initiative calls on Australians to commemorate our veterans at a local cenotaph Dawn Service or to venture to the edge of their driveway, front yard or balcony to observe a minute’s silence at 6 am.
You can also light a candle, carry a torch or ‘plant’ fabric ANZAC poppies in the garden. Further to that, sharing a small social media post to pay tribute to veterans and current personnel can be done using #lightupthedawn.
Those who took part in previous years fondly remember seeing the community come together for a moment of solidarity in a troubling time. This year, we will see stronger and more positive participation.
3. Join the Last Post Project
Join the Last Post Project was another product of the lockdown-era ANZAC situation. It invites musicians throughout the country to join in a group chorus. Similar to the Light Up the Dawn initiative, this commemorative act urges musicians to play the Last Post separately, but in unison in their driveways at dawn on ANZAC Day.
According to the project, individuals, groups, bands and schools playing any instrument are welcome to join in the initiative, creating a full gamut of musician recognition. You can also register to get a personalised sponsorship page, with all money raised donated to veteran charities, along with access to workshops and resources. If you aren’t musically inclined yourself, you can sponsor a musician or run your own dawn service.
4. Donate to the ANZAC Appeal
It might be the simplest way to commemorate ANZAC Day, but it’s still the most important. This year, you can share your support for returning servicemen and women by donating to the ANZAC Appeal. It’s an important initiative to support, as many veterans have done it tough in recent years.
You can donate to the ANZAC Appeal online or in person by buying a commemorative poppy or badge from an RSL volunteer.
Several volunteers are going cashless this year, so make sure you bring your card and give generously to a good cause.
5. Share an ANZAC Story at Home
ANZAC Day often becomes more meaningful when it turns personal.
The Australian War Memorial encourages Australians to commemorate the day not only in person, but in spirit. For many families, that starts at home.
Ask a parent or grandparent about relatives who served. Read letters or records. Look through medals, photographs, or old service documents. If you have children, explain why the day matters in simple terms.
Many families don’t realise how much history is sitting in a drawer somewhere.
Commemorating ANZAC Day at Home Still Counts
There is value in attending a march or standing among a crowd at dawn. But remembrance does not need a public stage.
Sometimes it’s a candle on the porch, a quiet living room before sunrise, or a conversation that would not have happened otherwise.
That counts too.
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