An accident at last year’s national Anzac Day parade has prompted the Returned Services League (RSL) to limit children’s participation at the service.

A letter to prospective participants in the march from the president of the RSL’s ACT branch, John King, emphasised “the march is for veterans and current serving members of the ADF”.

Mr King said relatives of deceased veterans “should not march”, but they have not been banned, reports ABC news.

Kids under 12, will no longer be allowed to walk down Anzac Parade alongside veterans, after the RSL was told the public liability insurance would no longer cover them.

In the 2017 parade, a child tripped and took down an elderly person they were marching with, who was then treated by paramedics.

Mr King said it was understandable that the public liability insurance would no longer cover the youngest marchers, who are also banned from riding in vehicles, and the youth groups the RSL had spoken to had “accepted the issue”.

“We’ve set the age of 12 as an age limit that we feel children can reasonably understand what’s going on,” he said.

“[They can] be more across what’s going on and if they have to manage the person as a carer, that’s reasonable.

Mr King said the changes made were always “trials” and they would re-assess after the event.

“When the children are able to … they can actually be largely responsible and not cause some of these issues that have occurred in the past,” he said.

Read the full story on ABC news…

Nawww I know lots of families who join in the march together.

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