The federal government will pick up the cost of foreign gallantry awards for veterans who fought in the Battle of Long Tan in Vietnam. About 100 Vietnam War veterans were recognised by the now defunct Saigon government in 1967 with the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation With Palm.

Veteran Affairs Minister Alan Griffin said the government would pay the $12 cost of the US-made ribbon, which the veterans could now wear at remembrance parades. Veterans were angered after learning they may have to pay for the ribbons themselves, after winning a 41-year battle to have the awards recognised in Australia.

"It was not about the money, it was about the protocol of the past," Mr Griffin told the Nine Network today. The problem was that there was no longer a South Vietnamese government to deal with the issue, Mr Griffin said. Asked whether the government would pay all the costs, Mr Griffin said: "We will, we will."