Thousands march in Melbourne for Anzac Day
Contemporary veterans are for the first time leading Melbourne's traditional Anzac Day march, with thousands of people taking part.
"It reflects the changing face of our veteran community," Victoria's RSL President Robert Webster told AAP after Wednesday's dawn service.
"It's right that we honour them (contemporary veterans).
"Some of them have been through some pretty rough times ... some of them have done six and seven rotations through Afghanistan and various places."
Previously led by the descendants of World War I veterans, the march began at Flinders Street station, working its way down St Kilda Road to the Shrine of Remembrance.
Up to 12,000 people were expected to take part in the 2018 march, with the strong numbers attributed largely to dry and mild weather.
It follows a packed dawn service attended by nearly 35,000 people who were for the first time addressed by a military woman.
"My medals represent ... medical battles with scalpels, antiseptic, blood and dressing," Group Captain Annette Holian told the pre-dawn crowd.
One former soldier at the Shrine said he saw the day as more about his father and grandfather than him.
"I still never see today as respect for me," he told AAP.