Four regional RSLs merge to keep veterans' services going

In short:

Returned & Services League (RSL) sub-branches in Red Cliffs-Irymple, Robinvale and Merbein will merge into the Mildura RSL to create a new model of veteran support and commemoration.

The merger aims to maintain the RSL presence in each town, while combating administration fatigue and a decrease in volunteer numbers.

What's next?

RSL Victoria says the new model can act as a "valuable lesson" for other smaller sub-branches struggling to maintain local services.

When Peter Fleming first joined the Red Cliffs RSL in the 1990s, the service was a thriving part of the community.

While its importance has not lessened in the years since, the number of people reaching out and getting involved in the far north-west Victorian town's RSL has declined.

It is the experience of many sub-branches across the state, which are balancing aging committees, increasing costs and high administration loads.

"Those [volunteer] numbers are falling away," Mr Fleming, who is now the president of the Red Cliffs-Irymple RSL, said.

"My committee's age ranges from 75 to 92, and a lot of the younger blokes that are coming through now tend to be going through Mildura rather than out to the traditional sub-branches.

"We're just not getting the numbers there to keep us viable."

To address the problem, Mr Fleming stepped forward with an idea to merge his sub-branch, along with those in Merbein and Robinvale, into the larger and more central Mildura RSL.

The merger, believed to be the largest in the state service's history, will create a new model of veteran support and commemoration, while maintaining a local presence in each community.

"We moved now while we're still capable of doing it. If we left it any longer then it would have been a major problem for us," Mr Fleming said.

"We could have ended up losing all our buildings,

"Doing what we're doing now, it secures our presence in the district."

Concern across Victoria

In April, RSL Victoria CEO Sue Cattermole told the ABC the head organisation was reviewing its governance structures in order to ease the administrative burden on struggling sub-branches.

There are more than 250 RSL sub-branches in Victoria.

Mildura RSL manager of veterans services Paul Mensch said administration was an issue for smaller groups.

"Being a not-for-profit charity organisation, each sub-branch has a massive amount of compliance to go through," he said.

"With smaller numbers and less volunteers, that compliance is becoming harder and harder.

"We really hope that other regions will take this blueprint and run with it."

Ms Cattermole said the veteran community was gravitating towards larger regional centres.

"What is happening in Mildura may be a blueprint for other areas to use to find a model that suits their veteran community best," she said.

No change for community

The Red Cliffs-Irymple, Merbein and Robinvale sub-branches all have long histories in Sunraysia.

Robinvale's RSL began as a branch of the Returned Soldiers' Sailors' and Airmens' Imperial League Australia in 1944. Merbein's branch was officially opened in 1922, and Red Cliffs was established in 1925.

As a part of the merger, the sub-branches will now fall under the Mildura RSL name, but are expected to keep their own names when managing town-based activities, such as ANZAC Day services.

All buildings and memorabilia will be retained, while financials will be handled by Mildura.

"All it means is that each of the sub-branches will no longer have a president, treasurer, secretary … that will be all handled in Mildura," Mr Fleming said.

Mildura RSL Sub-Branch president Brad McGlashan said the small sub-branches were "valued pillars of our community" and the Mildura RSL had the financial and operational capacity to ensure the merger's success into the future.

"This is a sensible and proactive solution that strengthens veteran support while preserving the unique identity and heritage of our soldier settlement communities," he said.

RSL Victoria said a coordinated veteran support pilot had started under the direction of Mr Mensch and had already displayed encouraging outcomes.

The model will continue to be refined before being formalised at the end of the year.