The President of the RSL, Greg Melick, will represent the organisation and Australia’s veterans at the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As one of Her Majesty the Queen’s long-standing Patronages, the RSL was invited to be represented at the funeral.

Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League: It was with great sadness that we received the news today of the death of our Patron, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I have written on behalf of our Trustees, Council Members, Member Organisations and Headquarters staff to express our deepest sympathy to His Majesty King Charles III and members of The Royal Family.

The Returned & Services League of Australia’s (RSL) has expressed its deep sorrow and condolences on the passing of its Patron, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has been an outstanding servant and leader of the Commonwealth for the duration of her reign and the RSL was honoured to have her as our Patron,” Greg Melick said. 

RCEL exists to help Commonwealth veterans who fought for our freedom. RSL is a Founder Member. Read our report on page 38.

RSL is proud to be supporting a remarkable and historically significant expedition in which the 16th RWAR of Perth and the 39th OSB of Randwick will retrace the steps of their comrades as part of commemorations for the 80th Anniversary of the Kokoda Campaign. 

RSL Australia and RSL NSW are sponsoring the Papua New Guinea porters supporting this trip and acknowledge the significant role they played in the campaign, carrying supplies and evacuating injured soldiers through the challenging terrain.

We have recently been alerted to a phone scam operating under the guise of RSL. Members of the public have reported receiving calls from individuals claiming to be RSL staff members and seeking ‘opt-ins’ to the charity.

Please note, RSL does not undertake any telephone marketing and will never ask for financial contributions, donations or for any personal information via this channel.

The RSL has prepared a summary of the Hobart Hearing Block, including the key themes examined so far and the actions of the League in response. Following the release of the Royal Commission Interim Report on the 11th of August, the RSL has also included a summary of the recommendations put forward.

The RSL has called for urgent action to address the recommendations of the Interim Report handed down by the Commissioners of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. The RSL welcomed the Report with the ex-service organisation recognising its release as an important milestone in the process.

While the Interim Report largely focuses on the operations of the Department of Veteran Affairs and the evidence process of the Royal Commission, the RSL recognises there are improvements that can and need to be made in the Ex-Service Organisation (ESO) sector.

The Federal Government is calling for feedback on draft legislation to ensure no veteran pays higher income tax because of the Federal Court’s Douglas decision ruling. The draft Treasury Laws Amendment (Measures for a later sitting) Bill 2022: Taxation of military superannuation benefits, and explanatory material, have been released for public consultation.

The RSL has commended comments by Defence Minister Richard Marles expressing his desire to substantially increase the lethality and strategic strike power of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) within the next five to seven years.

The RSL says Australia’s defence spending should immediately rise from the 2.11 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), to at least 2.5 percent.

With current international instability and increased tensions in the Asia Pacific region, Australia should not lose sight of the fact that the nation’s defence capabilities are grossly inadequate

To keep you informed about the Hearings from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, the RSL Royal Commission Office has prepared a summary of the Townsville Hearing Block, including the key themes examined so far and the actions of the League in response. The RSL will continue to provide these summaries periodically.

Three key ex-service organisations including RSL Australia have called for non-liability health care (NLHC) for all Defence Reservists.

The Defence Reserves Association (DRA), the Defence Force Welfare Association (DFWA), and the Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) have written a joint letter to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh, seeking his support for the extension of health care to all those serving in the reserve forces.

As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Kokoda Campaign (July – November 1942), we wanted to share the story of two legendary brothers whose lives, like many, were changed forever during their time defending Port Moresby from a Japanese advance on the Kokoda Track.

Stan and Thomas (Butch) Bisset, were the youngest brothers in a family of five children. Their strong bond was forged through a childhood playing sports, fishing, rafting and learning to shoot their .22 rifles in Warrandyte’s countryside (Melbourne).

Through the RSL Veterans’ Employment Program we were proud to attend and support the graduation of 18 veterans and spouses who recently graduated from Australia’s first Veteran Cyber Academy.

This pilot Academy offered fully funded positions in the 16-week immersive course. It has proven that a diverse range of ADF veterans with no cyber security experience, can be trained with industry-recognised certifications to develop real-world cyber security careers.

RSL Australia has welcomed new insights into the nation’s veteran population, with 2021 Census data released today revealing the regions with the highest populations of current and former serving Australian Defence Force personnel.

For the first time in recent Census’ history, the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded data on Australian Defence Force service. The highly sought-after insights provide a clearer picture of how many veterans there are in Australia and where key communities are located, which will help enable and shape effective delivery of support services.

RSL is working to introduce a pilot program to enable veterans and their families to more effectively access vital services and support to improve their lives.

The project would address a need outlined by the Chief of Defence Angus Campbell this week when he appeared before the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

The League recognised the need to deliver on new solutions for veterans and their families, and the ‘Catalogue of Services’ presented an innovative use of technology to provide timely information about where services are in any area through an app and web-based system.

The RSL has condemned the move by Greens’ Leader Adam Bandt and other Green MPs to remove the Australian flag from media conferences and other events.

RSL Australia president Greg Melick said while some may regard the actions of Mr Bandt as little more than a political stunt, it was particularly hurtful to the thousands of Australian men and women who had served or who are still serving under that very flag, as well as to the families of those who had sacrificed their lives in the service of our country.

The RSL is encouraging the Federal Government to look at providing guaranteed and sustainable needs-based funding to supplement the ongoing reliance on ex-service organisations and volunteers.

This follows the RSL experiencing a record year in demand for support, representation and service delivery across the veteran community across which more than $13.3 million was spent on welfare service delivery. In the past year, the RSL has provided 437,000 hours of advocacy on behalf of veterans – more than 370,000 hours of work supporting veterans’ claims for compensation and 66,000 hours of veteran welfare services.

The RSL has acknowledged that many veterans are deeply concerned and indeed angered at the apparent downgrading of the Veterans’ Affairs portfolio, placing it in the outer Ministry. Although the RSL strongly believes the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs should be a member of the inner Cabinet, the most important issue is the level of government support provided to veterans.

This year RSL Australia will distribute $32,000 in education-based Scholarships to deserving students throughout Australia.  For 2022, we proudly announce the four recipients of the RSL Scholarship and Reg Sanders Scholarship which are awarded to children and grandchildren of Australia's ex-serving veterans.  We look forward to seeing these students prosper in their chosen fields….