The Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet advises a State Memorial Service for Dame Olivia Newton-John AC DBE will be held at 4:00pm on Sunday 26 February 2023, at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Road, Southbank, Victoria.
Dame Olivia was an entertainment and cultural icon, and philanthropist. She proudly gave her name and support as the Founding Champion of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre at Austin Health in Melbourne. In addition, she founded the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund to sponsor global research into plant medicine to help find kinder treatments for cancer.
She was appointed as a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2019 for eminent service to community health, particularly for people living with cancer, through support for medical research, and as a songwriter and performer. Later that year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II named Dame Olivia a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to music, cancer research and charity.
Details regarding attendance at the service and livestreaming can be found on the Victorian Government's website.
As a mark of mourning and respect, the Australian National Flag should be flown at half-mast all day on Sunday 26 February 2023 in Victoria only from all buildings and establishments occupied by Australian Government departments and affiliated agencies. Other organisations are welcome to participate.
- When flying the Australian National Flag with other flags, all flags in the set should be flown at half-mast.
- If a set of flags includes the flags of other nations, it would be appropriate to seek permission from the diplomatic representatives of that nation to half-mast their flag.
- An acceptable half-mast position would be when the top of the flag is a third of the distance down from the top of the flagpole.
- Information on flag protocol is available on the Department's website.
The financial and staffing implications arising from weekend flag marshal duties are the responsibility of each organisation.
Your assistance is appreciated.
Commonwealth Flag Officer