The Special Air Service soldier was presented the Victoria Cross in January 2009, after rescuing a coalition forces interpreter from heavy fire in Oruzgan Province in Afghanistan just a few months earlier.

Before the sun rises on Anzac Day, the corporal - who has maintained throughout the years that he does not see himself as a hero - will address thousands of people at the Australian War Memorial.

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove will address another event following the dawn service in Canberra.

In Adelaide, Australia's oldest living Victoria Cross recipient - who risked his life to save 40 men in Vietnam - will join the city's annual march.

Keith Payne VC AM, 85, received the honour for rescuing fellow soldiers while under enemy fire and suffering his own injuries during the Battle of Ben Het in 1969.

In Darwin, Royal Australian Air Force jets and helicopters will fly over a march in the city, which was bombed by the Japanese in 1942 in the largest ever foreign attack on mainland Australia, resulting in the deaths of about 240 people.

WA Premier Mark McGowan will be the guest speaker at his state's dawn service at the Kings Park State War Memorial.

Assistant Minister for the Pacific Anne Ruston will spend the day in Papua New Guinea, marking the country's shared military history with Australia.

Across the ditch in New Zealand, dozens of Anzac Day events have been cancelled amid heightened security fears, but organisers in Christchurch say they won't be deterred by last month's terror attack in the city.

Only 26 commemorations will go ahead in Auckland this month, compared with 84 last year, as organisers from Returned and Services' Associations (RSAs) consolidate gatherings over lingering security fears after the March 15 shootings at two Christchurch mosques.

At Villers-Bretonneux in the French countryside, the Last Post will echo once again at dawn after Prime Minister Scott Morrison intervened in February to stop the local service being moved to later in the morning.

Aside from paying tribute to the nation's servicemen and women, Australians will have plenty of sport to watch on Thursday.

The Brisbane Roar will take on Adelaide United in the A-League, with the AFL's Anzac Day clash between Essendon and Collingwood kicking off soon after.

There will also be back-to-back NRL games, with the Roosters facing the Dragons and the Storm taking on the Warriors.

Australian Associated Press