JANUARY 2026

2026 is off and racing! If this is your first week back, I hope you are coping now that the bathers and thongs are swapped for "corporate wear".

For Veterans, this year, the machinery of change starts moving. The Royal Commission's recommendations move from paper to practice. New legislation comes into effect. And we'll mark significant moments of remembrance that remind us why this work matters.

Part of what's ahead:

• National Service 75th Anniversary: On 14 February, we’ll honour our Nashos and mark 75 years since the beginning of the 1951 National Service Training Scheme.

• Veterans' Legislation Reform: The VETS Act passed in Parliament in February 2025, and it will become operational in July 2026. It simplifies the three-Act system that caused so much confusion and distress over the decades, into one single Act, making it simpler and easier for the veteran community.

• Royal Commission Implementation: In 2026, new oversight bodies will move into active implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations - the Veteran Wellbeing Agency (July 2026), the Institute of Veterans’ Advocacy (IVA), and consultation and sector coordination will continue to create a peak body for veteran service organisations.

Peter Tinley

AFOF 60th anniversary hike

To mark 60 years of the Australian Forces Overseas Fund, we are recruiting 20 RSL members to undertake the Main Range Walk in Kosciuszko National Park on Friday, 13 February 2026.

We will be walking in honour of our deployed ADF personnel, who serve in challenging and unfamiliar environments, away from home and family, to acknowledge the commitment and sacrifice they make on Australia’s behalf and to raise funds to continue supporting their morale and wellbeing.

75th anniversary of National Service 1951-72

I want to acknowledge the work being done by RSL Victoria and the Sub-Branch network directly involved in supporting their community during the current bushfire emergency.

RSL veterans are meeting the call - supporting community relief efforts, conducting welfare check-ins where needed, and helping veterans and families stay connected to assistance.

This is quiet, practical service - delivered locally, with care and purpose.
We are at our very best when we stand in the service of others.

Thank you to everyone involved, and to the emergency services who continue to carry the heaviest load.

I recently contributed an article to The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian on the RSL’s mission to evolve into a contemporary, competent organisation that delivers real value to veterans and contributes meaningfully to national life. Veterans deserve an organisation that stands with them, advocates for them and never stops fighting for the recognition and care they earned. 

That is the future we will build together.  

17 January - Operation Desert Storm commenced - Gulf War (1991)

3 February - The Fall of Ambon - Gull Force forced to surrender - 800 Australians taken prisoner (1942)

10 February - HMAS Melbourne/HMAS Voyager Collision (1964)

14 February - National Servicemen’s Day