The price of liberty is eternal vigilance

Welfare and Hospital Visitation

Sub-Branch Administration (The Sub-Branch Hall and Office is open most Thursdays between 0930 and 1300)

Sub-Branch membership Dues remain at $35 and are due on the 1st January each year and are payable NLT 30th March to remain Financial

Commemorative Services

Member Social Functions

RSL/Bunnings BBQ Fundraisers

Bunnings have  re-commenced Community BBQs' and our next fundraising BBQ's at Bunnings Cessnock will be on 8th May 2021                                           8am to 4pm.  Volunteers to assist most welcome.

SUB-BRANCH MEETINGS ARE NOW BACK TO ALMOST NORMAL COMMENCING AT 1830 HRS ON THE 1st TUESDAY OF EACH MONTH EXCEPT JANUARY.  SUB-BRANCH EXECUTIVE MEMBERS ARE NOW BACK AT THE HALL EVERY THURSDAY  BETWEEN 0930 AND 1300  SHOULD MEMBERS AND LOCAL VETERANS WISH TO DROP IN FOR A CHAT AND A COFFEE.

COVID 19 RESTRICTIONS

A COVID-19 Safety plan is now in place at the RSL Hall. Seating has been arranged to meet the current social distancing requirements  and sanitising equipment is in place at the entrance and throughout the hall. To meet the record  keeping requirements, the sign-in sheet has been modified to comply with the Covid 19 compliance instructions. The co-operation of members in complying with these measures is appreciated.

Next Sub-Branch meeting 6.30pm Tuesday 4th May 2021.  Please note our Winter Starting time of 10am commencing from this meeting.

MEMBERS DINNERS

Our members Dinners for this year are scheduled as follows:

Wednesday 14 July 2021 12pm for 12.30pm at the Caledonia Hotel

Wednesday 8th December 2021 6.30pm of 7pm at the Cessnock Leagues Club

Quarterly Sub-Branch Newsletter

The latest newsletter is now available for download.

TO ACCESS THE LATEST RSL NSW BOARD COMMUNIQUE CLICK ON THE ACTION BUTTON,                                    

ANZAC House Circular

Circular         number:
Date:
Email:
Phone number:
To: 

C35/20
       17 December 2020
support@rslnsw.org.au
       1300 679 775
       Directors, District Councils, Honorary Secretaries 

Dear         Honorary Secretary,
 

       A letter addressed to all RSL NSW members has been received from the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), in response to RSL NSW annual reporting against its Enforceable Undertaking obligations. Please click on this link to read the letter.  The RSL NSW Board of Directors request that sub-Branch Presidents brief all members on the letter and confirm to their respective District Councilby 15 March 2021 that this has been completed. The letter draws attention to sub-Branch obligations as a charity and suggests some reading and other materials to support compliance. The RSL NSW Board is very aware of the onerous compliance requirements of the ACNC and NSW Fundraising Acts and  therefore, under the ‘umbrella’ of the Strategic Plan, intends to ensure all sub-Branch executives receive appropriate support and assistance in discharging their responsibilities.
Membership Fees
The Board has received considerable feedback about the decision to         cease the practice of sub-Branches subsidising members’ annual         fees. An interim policy has been approved to direct sub-Branches         in meeting their obligations if they need to support members in         financial distress.
Interim Policy
Sub-Branches may subsidise RSL NSW membership fees if it is for a         service member (veteran) who is in “genuine need of financial assistance”. As sub-Branches are registered charities, they need to record the subsidy as a charitable donation to a veteran in need to meet their compliance obligations.
 

Definition of  “genuine need”
At the discretion of the sub-Branch executive, a veteran is deemed in         ‘genuine need’ of financial assistance if he/she is not in a financial         position to pay their annual membership fees. This could, but is         not limited to the following circumstances:

• They have a low fixed income i.e. pension or low fixed-income retiree
• They rely on income support, i.e. Centrelink payments

Background and Implementation
This issue has arisen for two reasons: 

1. A member of a charity cannot be provided with financial benefit by virtue of their membership. However, in the case of RSL NSW, supporting veterans and their families is the charitable purpose. Therefore, if the member is a veteran and in need of financial assistance financial support can be provided from charitable funds. It is defined as ‘necessitous’ by the ACNC Act, 2012 and Charities Act  2013.
    
2. Many sub-Branches rely on income from membership fees and local fundraising to undertake their charitable purpose, including annual  commemorations. These sub-Branches do not have the means to subsidise their allocated members’ fees and recognise  that the Support and Assistance fund is not for this purpose, nor is it appropriate for ‘wealthy’ sub-Branches to subsidise membership fees by providing direct funding.

In October 2020, the Board agreed to  an interim policy with an accompanying procedure that will enable sub-Branches to subsidise         fees if the person is in ‘genuine  need’ and this is recorded by the sub-Branch to meet their regulatory compliance obligations under         Section 55-5 of the ACNC Act, 2012. Procedurally, a simple record of         the decision and reason why a member has received the donation is         required.
Also, in October 2020 the Board approved the RSL NSW Strategic Plan (2021-2026). This plan considered member feedback and therefore there will be NO membership fees from Calendar year 2022, hence the policy above is only  interim. This recognises that RSL members are volunteers who are providing support to fellow veterans, not just to members of the RSL in accordance with the charitable purpose.
Membership fees do not necessarily mean ‘capitation’ fees, and these  are yet to be set. If the proposed funding model to support the         strategic plan and strategic initiatives is adopted, there will be no         need for capitation fees for RSL National for instance, or ANZAC         House.
If sub-Branches identify veterans in serious financial hardship, the         veteran should be referred to RSL DefenceCare. RSL DefenceCare         (recipient of RSL NSW sub-Branch donations and our principal service delivery organisation) is set up to deal with privacy and associated  compliance matters related to providing financial assistance.
 

Recording donation for membership subsidy - Example
Date

Recipient

Amount

Reason

Authorised by

 2           February 2021 Joe Bloggs $30.00 Pensioner

Treasurer

       Regards,
 

Jeff O'Brien
       GM Member Services and State Secretary

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