General News
13 November, 2025
Legacy House site secured
FNQ Legacy is thrilled Cairns Regional Council has unanimously agreed to grant a lease to the welfare organisation of council-owned land at Smithfield, conditional on community consultation and raising the funds to build Legacy House.
Acting FNQ Legacy executive officer Melanie Allen said it meant Far Northern veteran families were one step closer to having a dedicated space for integrated support services, including crisis accommodation, counselling, wellbeing programs, advocacy and community connection.
“We are extremely grateful for the support of Cairns Regional Council and their endorsement of this project,” she said.
“Now we enter phase two … community consultation and our fundraising phase. And we need your help. We need to raise $5 million to make Legacy House a reality.
“We know this community continually supports us and we are so grateful for your generous support.”
FNQ president Alfonso Santos said it was “a critical time in our history and in the Legacy House project campaign, so we can move forward petitioning all levels of government for funding”.
“Our aim for FNQ Legacy is to raise $1 million to contribute to the build,” he said.
The lease is for up to 30 years and the site was identified by FNQ Legacy in the Smithfield leisure precinct adjacent to the Smithfield library.
Council officers confirmed the proposal will not significantly impact the leisure precinct masterplan, endorsed in 2017.
Under the terms of the agreement, FNQ Legacy will undertake community consultation to demonstrate public support for the project before continuing their funding advocacy preparation of a development application and future tenure.
Mayor Amy Eden, who is the wife of a Navy veteran and a Legacy centenary ambassador, said the decision reflected deep respect for the service and sacrifice of Defence families. “Far North Queensland has the highest proportion of veterans in Australia and this project is both much needed and long overdue,” she said.
“Legacy exists because service has a cost. It is for the families left behind, the partners, the children, the parents and the loved ones who carry the weight of that sacrifice every day.
“When a veteran loses their life or their health in service to our country, Legacy steps in to ensure their families are not left to walk alone. That is what this house represents. It is a promise kept.”
Division 8 Councillor Rhonda Coghlan said the project was a long-overdue step forward for veterans’ support in the Far North.
“The Royal Commission made it clear that more must be done to support veterans and their families. With more than 11,000 veterans calling our region home, this project is long overdue. Legacy House will make a real difference in people’s lives,” she said.
