One of the Invictus Games charities supported by Prince Harry is facing an uncertain future after the Australian government decided to withdraw all its funding. Invictus Australia, whose members the Duke and Duchess of Sussex met during their visit to the country last month, will not have its £4.83 million three-year support renewed.
The decision by Australia's Labor Party government, announced in the new budget on Tuesday, took charity leaders by surprise. This comes after it was revealed this week that a key trustee of Harry's Invictus Games next year in Birmingham is stepping down.
The withdrawal of Australian funding follows Harry and Meghan's visit to the country last month, where they met members of Invictus Australia and announced a new sports festival due to be held in Perth later this year. The couple took part in a sailing tour after his visit to the Australian War Memorial, with a reception for Invictus Australia and the Last Post Ceremony.
Invictus Australia is a veterans' charity that connects current and former serving personnel and their families to sporting communities across the country. Officials say they were taken aback by the decision not to renew their funding, announced in Treasurer Jim Chalmers' new federal budget on Tuesday. Prince Harry spoke at an Invictus Australia reception during a visit to the Australian War Memorial on April 15 this year.
Officials have warned that there could now be struggles to send an Australian team to the next Games, scheduled for next year at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre. The Australian government previously promised AUS$9 million (£4.83 million) across three years for the charity in the 2022-2023 budget.
Harry is patron of the Invictus Games, which he established in 2014 as an international adaptive multi-sport event for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women. Both serving troops and veterans are encouraged to compete as part of their recovery journeys. The Australian city of Sydney hosted the 2018 edition, while the most recent was held in Vancouver, Canada, in 2025, the first to include winter sports.
Invictus Australia's chief executive, Michael Hartung, revealed he only learned of the funding withdrawal hours before the budget was tabled in parliament. He told ABC Sport: 'We really only found out yesterday evening and that has left us with a fair degree of shock. Removing this funding removes access to a proven pathway for recovery.'
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex took part in a sailing event with Invictus Australia members at Sydney Harbour on the fourth day of their Australia visit in April 2026. The Duke and Duchess enjoyed receiving special gifts of flip-flops during the occasion.
Hartung described how three-quarters of the organisation's funding came from the federal government, adding in a statement on the charity's website: 'For many veterans, Invictus Australia is not a recreational outlet. It is a lifeline. With demand already outstripping our capacity, this decision risks pushing vulnerable veterans and their families further into isolation.'
'If we are truly committed to veteran wellbeing, support for this work must continue so we can keep delivering evidence-backed impact at scale.' The charity typically backs a team of about 50 athletes taking part in the Invictus Games but says it has also 'supported close to 30,000 veterans and family members through sporting programs delivered across the country'.
Invictus Games athlete Vanessa Broghill, who won long jump gold for Australia at the 2020 event, said of the latest setback: 'It can be life-threatening if I'm going to be brutally honest. We lose six veterans a month to suicide and a lot of the time that can be taken back to the fact that they feel like they have no support. There are so many people out there that rely on organisations like Invictus Australia to help them through all the things that they're going through, whether it be PTSD, anxiety, depression.'
Prince Harry's representatives have been approached for comment. Meghan and Harry chatted with Invictus Australia alumni during the Sydney event.
Matt Keogh, Australia's minister for veteran's affairs and defence personnel, thanked Invictus Australia for what he called its 'effective work supporting the veteran community'. He added: 'While the funding for these specific grant programs has now concluded, the Veteran and Family Wellbeing Agency will provide future opportunities to work with the sector to develop a competitive programme to deliver wellbeing initiatives that support veterans and families of veterans.'
The Daily Mail earlier revealed the resignation of one of the most distinguished members of Invictus's board of trustees for next year's Games in Birmingham. Melloney Poole was not only a trustee but also vice chairman of the board. She previously played a key role at the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as chairing the board of governors for the Regional Committee of the National Lottery Charities Board and presently chairs the Florence Nightingale Foundation. The Ministry of Defence asked her in 2015 to set up and run a new Armed Forces Covenant Fund, which is now an independent charitable trust. She joined the Invictus board of trustees in December 2014.
A spokesman for Invictus told the Daily Mail's Richard Eden: 'Melloney has decided to step down to focus on her other interests – not least the Florence Nightingale Foundation.' They added that her 'extensive leadership experience' had been 'instrumental' in establishing the foundations for next year's games.
