RSL ACT Branch

06/10/2026

RSL ACT Branch acknowledges the death of an Australian soldier on 05 October 2026 and the injuries to an additional five soldiers during a training incident at Mount Bundey in the Northern Territory.

While details are still being released, our thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of the deceased and injured service personnel. In times of war and peace our nation's soldiers, sailors and aviators serve with a contract of 'unlimited liability' and we are eternally grateful for their service.

RIP.

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27/09/2026

RSL ACT Branch has been working with RSL Australia and other State Branches on responses to the Defence Estate Divestment Plan.

This plan does not properly take into account current or future Defence needs and does not or respect traditional Defence sites that still play an important role today.

Locally the plan to divest Fairbairn Golf Course would deprive the whole ACT community of an important sporting and social asset that can not be absorbed elsewhere within the community.

RSL Australia is urging the Federal Government to heed the recommendations of a Senate inquiry and pause its Defence estate divestment program.

The Senate committee examining the management of Defence estate assets has recommended an immediate halt to the broader program until proper public consultation is completed and appropriate checks and balances are in place.

RSL Australia believes the concerns raised warrant a pause before irreversible decisions are made.

This is about more than land and buildings. Decisions about sites such as Victoria Barracks Sydney and Irwin Barracks in Perth have real consequences for serving personnel and their families, recruitment and retention, Defence capability and Australia’s military heritage.

Across the country, RSL state branches have raised concerns about proposed divestments and the process surrounding them. RSL Australia stands firmly behind our state branches.

The Government should heed the Senate committee’s recommendation, undertake meaningful consultation and properly assess the current and future strategic value of these sites before they are gone for good.

🔗 The Senate Inquiry Interim Report can be read in full via the link in the comments

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19/09/2026

Looking forward to this GWS Giants AFLW game tomorrow! Let's go Giants!

17/09/2026

15/09/2026

The GWS Giants have been great supporters of RSL ACT Branch and we are looking to return the favour for their AFLW clash against the Tigers this Sunday, 20th September at 12:35pm.

Get down to the ground and get around the team! Go Giants!

10/09/2026

RSL ACT Branch, RSL Australia and all of our Branches and Sub Branches are apolitical. As is the nature of service of every Australian who serves in the Australian Defence Force.

However, the recent comments by Senator Hanson and One Nation inferring that Senator Andrew Hastie is a traitor because of a political disagreement are beyond the pall. It is a slur against all veterans. It is unnecessary and divisive.

From RSL Australia's post: 'Branding a former soldier a 'traitor' sends a corrosive message to the wider veteran community: that your service can be recast as betrayal the moment it's politically convenient.'

The recent comments from Senator Hanson towards Andrew Hastie MP go beyond political disagreement.

This may have begun as a political dispute between Senator Hanson and Mr Hastie, however, when a person's military service is used as the punchline, when the word 'traitor' is thrown at someone who has worn the uniform and deployed on operations, that stops being politics and starts being an attack on every veteran's service.

Veterans don't stop being accountable to their oath once they leave the ADF. Branding a former soldier a 'traitor' sends a corrosive message to the wider veteran community: that your service can be recast as betrayal the moment it's politically convenient.

RSL Australia asks all sides of politics to keep that distinction. Calling a veteran a traitor is a slur, and it deserves to be treated as one regardless of who it's aimed at or how it's dressed up.

08/09/2026

RSL ACT Branch has been part of recent discussions and work with RSL Australia and other State Branches seeking improvements to the Federal Government's proposed allied health arrangements. We welcome the initial changes, but more work remains to be done.

RSL ACT welcomes the recent changes to the proposed allied health arrangements for veterans but more work remains to be done as part of a collaborative effort with the Government and other VSOs.

04/09/2026

Vale Brigadier Colin Khan, DSO AM who passed away on 31 August 2026.

A legend of the Australian Regular Army and Infantry Corps, Colin - or 'Ghengis' as he was known to his soldiers - served in the Korean War as a Platoon Commander where he was severely wounded and Mentioned in Dispatches for his leadership, the Vietnam War as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR; The Tiger Battalion), as well as staff and leadership appointments as Defence Attaché Laos, Commandant of the Land Warfare Centre and Director General of Reserves and Recruiting.

Colin was a force to be reckoned with. His distinguished leadership as CO of the Tiger Battalion at the Battle of Binh Ba and beyond earned him the love and respect of his soldiers. Every year scores of those he lead and served with travelled to Canberra for his birthday and other events.

Colin lead and was patron of the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Association for many years for which he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for those efforts and other veteran advocacy work. He walked the 'Bridge to Bridge' in Canberra every morning for decades, lectured and mentored future generations of officers and soldiers and gave his name along with fellow former CO of 5 RAR John Warr to the Champion Soldier trophy of the Tiger Battalion. Colin was an intergenerational influence on so many.

He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, those who served with him, and those he developed into better Officers and Soldiers.

Farewell Colin. A leader. A legend. A father, grandfather and great-grandfather. A friend and mentor. Always a Tiger.

03/09/2026

A fantastic Transition Seminar for ADF Veterans and Families yesterday coordinated the by Joint Transition Authority. As well as meeting with veterans and discussing employment and wellbeing support from RSL Australian Capital Territory and other State Branches, we engaged with RSL LifeCare, Soldier On Australia, Veteran Employment Program, UNSW and Australian Catholic University among other discussing how to support our veterans and their families.

One message rang loud and clear from those discussions: Whatever 'badge' we wear, we are committed to working better together for our veterans. We look forward to the next Seminar and further opportunities to connect.

30/08/2026

The 31st of August is Malaya and Borneo Veterans' Day where we commemorate the service and sacrifice of those who served in the Malayan Emergency (1948 to 1960) and the Indonesian Confrontation (1962 to 1966).

Ships of the Royal Australian Navy and Infantry, Artillery, Special Air Service Regiment and Engineers formed the bulk of those who served in the conflicts, with most operations receiving little coverage at the time due to the sensitivity of cross-border operations.

22 Australian servicemen lost their lives in the Confrontation and 1 in the Malaya Emergency. Lest We Forget.



Photo Credit: Australian War Memorial - AWM FIL/66/0241/MC

Soldiers from 4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, moving from hut to hut during a patrol along the Malaysian-Indonesian border, Borneo, June 1966.