A corporate fundraising drive to raise $170 million for the Anzac Centenary celebrations is running well short of its target.

The ABC understands that just $16,000 of a pledged $80m has been deposited so far.

The Anzac Centenary public fund was established by the Gillard government to raise money from corporate Australia to pay for more than half of the planned 2015 Anzac Centenary commemorative program.

The fund was launched with considerable fanfare in April last year by then-prime minister Julia Gillard.

The Labor government picked the trucking magnate Lindsay Fox to oversee the fund.

Mr Fox says he is aiming to raise $300 million by Australia Day in 2015.

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The Federal Government will provide $145m, which will fund various projects including a travelling Anzac exhibition and the upgrade of memorials around the country.

Veterans Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson says the Abbott Government remains committed to the program and the list of projects, but warns that any shortfall in the collection of corporate donations will not be picked up by the taxpayer.

"When the former government established the Anzac Public Appeal, with corporate donations being raised by Mr Lindsay Fox, they nominated the travelling exhibition as the first priority along with a number of secondary projects," Mr Ronaldson said.

"The level of funds raised will determine if these projects proceed, but in the current fiscal climate there will be no further taxpayer contribution toward them."

The travelling exhibition is expected to cost up to $70 million, while other projects on the list include the renovation of the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne at a cost of $22.5m.

Refurbishing the Memorial in Sydney's Hyde Park will cost $18.5m, and there will be renovations of Anzac Square in Brisbane and a number of smaller projects in other states.

Vast amount of money spent on 'unjustified' causes

Peter Stanley, a Research Professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy, says a vast amount of money is being spent on unjustified causes.

"The enactment of a convoy of ships that leaves Albany in November, what's it giving you? How is that enriching our cultural understanding of the war?" Professor Stanley said.

"There's an imbalance in the public funding of the commemorations. The National Library is doing an exhibition on the Great War, but they've hardly received any funding.

"The vast majority of the money is going to the [Australian] War Memorial, which will tell us what happened on the battlefront, whereas other institutions speak to us about the effect the war had on society."

Professor Stanley says the imbalance in funding leads to an imbalance of our understanding of the Great War.

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Given the millions that are on the table – even if there's a shortfall in corporate donations – some have expressed concern that the amount the country is about to spend commemorating a war long gone could perhaps be better spent on helping fund those veterans still fighting for retribution for injuries and mental scars they are struggling with as a result of participating in our modern campaigns.

The professor says the difficulties some veterans have had with the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) over claims for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have been well documented.

But Mr Ronaldson says the tranche of money for Gallipoli commemorations is a one-off.

"The Centenary of Anzac is the nation's most important commemorative period and under former and current governments there will be a one-off spend of $145m over four years," he said.

He pointed out that the Government currently spends $166 million a year on mental health programs through the Department of Veterans' Affairs, which is demand driven and uncapped.

The Lowy Institute's James Brown has estimated Australia will spend three times more than the United Kingdom on World War I commemorations.

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