If there's a thread through this edition, it's that the things we value don't look after themselves. We have to protect them, or we lose them.

September brought a genuine win: the $5,000 allied health threshold is off the table. That happened because the veteran community came together, and made the case to all sides of politics. Everyone played their part, including our role with bringing together ten national veteran organisations to speak with a united voice.

This is just the beginning of our fight to protect our veteran community. The Four Corners investigation, Defenceless, showed the real problem is still out there – predatory providers harvesting veterans’ details and medical data to on sell services they don’t need. On 15 October I told a Senate inquiry we need national laws with teeth, and that's where our campaign goes next.

Earlier this month at the National Press Club, I argued that preparing this country for serious disruption is a duty nobody holds. RSL Australia will take forward a National Preparedness Framework through to the next federal election, and I will be writing to every party leader seeking their support.

On 25 October, I spoke at the Save Victoria Barracks rally in Sydney. The Senate inquiry has already recommended the mass divestment be halted until proper consultations are undertaken, yet Defence personnel have been told to vacate the site by the end of the year. We’re not giving up on Victoria Barracks Sydney, and we’re not giving up on the other key strategic Defence sites slated to be sold off!

Australia's first Women Veterans' Strategy was released recently, and the women veterans who pushed hard for it deserve real credit. It's a solid start, and now we need to push for a funded implementation plan, annual public reporting and independent oversight, so it delivers real change.

I’m also cognizant these past couple of months have also been about remembering.

The national marked 25 years since Australians first deployed to Afghanistan; we farewelled Reg Chard, our last Kokoda veteran; and I accepted Japan's Foreign Minister's Commendation for the Grassroots Exchange Programme.

Finally, congratulations to RSL NSW on a strong Congress in Tamworth, to Brigadier Vince Williams CSC (Retd) on his election as President, and to Angela McCann OAM, one of this year's Anzac of the Year recipients.

There is plenty more to catch up on below. As always, thank you for everything you do for the League.

Cheers,

Pete

Know someone who'd value this newsletter?

Allied Health: Now For The Rogue Providers

The $5,000 allied health threshold is off the table after fierce advocating from the veteran community. The Minister confirmed it on 17 September. It would have hit around a quarter of the 100,000 veterans who regularly use allied health services, while missing the providers actually causing the problem.

RSL Australia and nine other national veteran organisations worked on this together from when it was announced on Budget night, around the table, not through a megaphone. The Minister listened to us, and the veteran community, and made the right call.

The real problem hasn't gone away

The Four Corners exposé uncovered a network of more than 70 allied-health companies that collected veterans' DVA details through giveaways, built a database of 180,000 names and cold-called veterans to sign them up for services. It was confronting a confronting investigation, but it confirmed what the RSL has been telling Government for more than two years. Read our response.

I gave evidence to the Senate inquiry into DVA-funded health treatment on the 15th October. The day before, federal police executed search warrants in an investigation into alleged fraud involving veterans' medical reports. DVA received a record 1,488 fraud and integrity tip-offs last financial year. There's enough evidence now to go after the rogue providers.

Our submission to the Senate inquiry, endorsed by 10 national veteran organisations, calls for national laws that:

• cap fees and ban commissions, contingency fees and punitive "break" fees

• stop veterans' personal data being sold or used for marketing

• end phoenixing, where operators close down and reopen under a new name

• back a regulator with real powers to investigate and prosecute

That's where RSL Australia will advocate and campaign for change.
Read our submission.

Been overcharged or misled by a provider? Contact your local Sub-Branch can connect you with one of our 600 accredited advocates for free, whether you're an RSL member or not.

Defence Estate:
Stand Up for Victoria Barracks Sydney

On Sunday 25 October, I left the RSL NSW State Congress early to speak at the Save Victoria Barracks Rally in Moore Park, Sydney.

There were at least 2,000 supporters who turned out. Speakers from right across the political spectrum, a former Chief of Defence/Chief of Army, former Prime Ministers, RSL members… the list goes on!

Even the NSW Premier has backed keeping the site in public hands. That matters. This is about our history, our heritage and our defence capability, and I was proud to speak on behalf of the League and the veteran community.

Victoria Barracks has stood on Paddington Hill since the 1840s and still houses Headquarters Forces Command. It's one of 67 Defence sites the Government plans to sell, based on a 2023 audit that predates today's strategic environment, with no clear plan for the reserve and cadet units that use these sites. Once they're gone, they're gone forever.

The Senate inquiry agrees there's a problem. Its September interim report recommended stopping the mass divestment until there's been proper public consultation.

Submissions are open again until 29 January 2027, and RSL Australia is preparing a new one.

The fight isn’t over. There are other strategic Defence sites that are earmarked to be sold and we won’t let that happen without a fight.

Here's how you can help: contact your State Branch or Sub-Branch and your State or Federal MP and tell them how a site near you matters to your community.

Long-awaited Women Veterans’ Strategy

Australia's first Women Veterans' Strategy has finally been released, shaped by the women veterans who shared their experiences and kept pushing for it. This is a much needed first step.

However, a strategy alone doesn't deliver change. Together with Women Veterans Australia, the Defence Force Welfare Association and Legacy Australia, we're calling for a funded implementation plan with clear targets, annual public reporting and independent oversight, action on sexual violence, medical discharge and homelessness, and a stronger voice for women veterans in policy decisions.
Read more

The League at Land Forces 2026

It was good to be on home turf when Land Forces came to Perth for the first time this October, and even better to put veterans on the agenda.

I led a panel on how Australia can better recognise and harness veterans' skills, during service and long after. I was joined by Lieutenant General Natasha Fox AO CSC, Chief of Personnel; Jennifer Parker, UWA Defence and Security Institute; Ohad Katz, Raytheon Australia; and Julie Hall, CommBank for Veterans.

We covered:

• Changing the narrative: veterans' leadership and skills, not their challenges

• Recruitment: the ADF's strongest results in 16 years

• Life after service: careers and businesses

• Future readiness: a stronger Reserve and closer Defence–industry ties

The takeaway: defence capability is about people, not just equipment. Thanks to our panellists and the team who made it happen.
Read more

National Press Club Address

On 12 October, I addressed the National Press Club. In my address, The Missing Line of Defence: The Duty Nobody Holds, I put forward a National Preparedness Framework that RSL Australia will take to the next federal election.

Why the RSL? Because how well Australia prepares is a veterans' issue. Veterans and their families are among those who pay when the country isn't ready. In 1937 the League called for a home defence force. The government said no, we built it anyway, and by 1941 the Commonwealth couldn't do without it. This isn't the RSL stepping outside its lane. This is the lane.

Right now, no one in the Commonwealth holds the job of making sure we're ready for serious disruption. The Framework fixes that: a law making preparedness a standing duty, independent advice on what's worth funding, and one senior adviser who answers for whether we're ready, with a report to Parliament every year.

No new emergency powers, no expanded surveillance, no compulsion. And veterans aren't a spare labour pool.

I'm writing to every party leader seeking their support, and we'll publish every reply. Watch the full address on ABC iview

Afghanistan, 25 Years On

On 11 October, 25 years to the day since Australians first deployed under Operation Slipper, the nation gathered at the Australian War Memorial to honour those who served in Afghanistan.

More than 35,000 Australians served in Afghanistan and the wider Middle East Area of Operations over two decades. The Roll of Honour records 47 ADF personnel who died as a result of that service, and some 263 were wounded. The service honoured them, the families who supported them, and the coalition partners and Afghan nationals they served alongside.

It was an honour to lay a wreath with Legacy on behalf of veterans and families. It was also a reminder of our job: to look after those who came home, and the families of those who didn't.

Thank you to every Sub-Branch that marked the day locally. For many of our members, Afghanistan isn't history. It's their service, their mates and their family's story, and the conversation shouldn't stop at one anniversary.

Find out more about the commemoration:
25th anniversary of Australian service in Afghanistan 2001–2021

A Commendation From Japan

Earlier this month, I accepted the Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation on behalf of the RSL, recognising our role in reconciliation through the Grassroots Exchange Programme.

Around 22,000 Australians were taken prisoner by Japanese forces in the Second World War, and more than 8,000 didn't come home. Since 1997, some 140 former POWs, their descendants and RSL representatives have travelled to Japan as guests of its Government. That took courage on both sides, and I accepted the honour on behalf of every veteran and family who made the journey.

In this 50th anniversary year of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation, the Programme will draw to a close. Ambassador Suzuki called it a dignified and honourable end, and we receive it in that spirit.

We will always remember what was suffered. Thanks to this Programme, we will also remember what was healed.

Read more about the Grassroots Programme

RSL NSW State Congress: Better Together

RSL NSW held its Annual State Congress and AGM in Tamworth from 23 to 25 October.

Members launched the Better Together Strategic Plan 2027–2029, focusing the League on its core mission to Connect, Commemorate and Advocate as it heads into its 110th year. Brigadier Vince Williams CSC (Retd) was elected as President.

The Governor of NSW, Her Excellency the Hon Margaret Beazley AC KC, joined us to celebrate this year's award recipients:

• ANZAC of the Year: Patsy Edwards (Gosford) and Angela McCann (Coolamon)

• Meritorious Service Medal: David McCann (Coolamon), Christopher Pritzler (Queanbeyan) and Gordon Wade (Goulburn)

• Lady Woodward Cup: Old Bar Beach RSL Sub-Branch Auxiliary

Congratulations to Vince, the new Board and every recipient.
Read more from RSL NSW

Some people hold a Sub-Branch together. Angela McCann does that, and then some.

A RAAF veteran born and raised in Coolamon, Angela has been Honorary Secretary of the Coolamon RSL Sub-Branch for more than 20 years. She's the person local veterans call for help with a DVA claim, or just for someone to listen, and she leads the town's Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services every year.

I had the immense pleasure of awarding Angela as one of RSL Australia’s 2026 Anzac of the Year recipients at the RSL NSW State Congress in Tamworth, alongside Patsy Edwards of Gosford RSL Sub-Branch.

Beyond the RSL, Angela coordinates the Up2Date Art Exhibition, now in its 20th year, which includes a Veterans Art Prize, giving veterans a creative outlet. Proceeds go to small rural schools. And if that wasn’t enough, Angela also mentors other volunteers to step into leadership roles of their own.

Angela, on behalf of every veteran and family you've stood beside: Thank you. Read Angela's story

#StillServing

Do you know a veteran or family members of veterans contributing in ways that never make the news?

Angela’s story is one of thousands. RSL Australia's #StillServing campaign exists to find and tell them, and highlight the great work our veteran community does every day. NOMINATE A VETERAN

1 November – AIF first convoy sails from Albany (1914)

3 November – Kokoda Day

11 November – Remembrance Day; Armistice signed (1918); Shrine of Remembrance opened, Melbourne (1934); Australian War Memorial opened, Canberra (1941)

18 November – Battle of Berlin (1943)

19 November – Sinking of HMAS Sydney (II) (1941)

20 November – Sinking of HMAS Goorangai (1940)