Vasey RSL Care launches Advocacy Campaign

* 20 April 2020 *

Vasey RSL Care has launched an advocacy campaign to enlist the support of RSL sub-branches and the veteran community to secure a strong future for our organisation.

“We have taken this step following a directive we received from RSL Victoria and the War Widows’ Guild of Australia (Victoria), through their presidents, to sell our organisation by 2023,” said Janna Voloshin, CEO, Vasey RSL Care.

“While we have the utmost respect for our friends and colleagues in RSL Victoria and the Guild we have notified them that we cannot comply with the directive. We believe that to do so would be at odds with the duties of our directors of the trustee of the patriotic fund that owns the assets of Vasey RSL Care and their duties as responsible persons of a registered charity.

“We also believe it is not in the best interests of current and future generations of veterans. They require a trusted organisation with the strength and expertise to continue to deliver the direct care, housing and social support they need.”

Vasey RSL Care is the only aged care organisation in Victoria that prioritises veterans. The organisation provides care for veterans regardless of their financial circumstances.

Currently more than 70 per cent of our aged care home residents and almost 100 per cent of our independent living unit tenants are veterans and dependants. Our independent living units are exclusively for veterans; in our aged care homes, we always offer places to veterans first and give them priority.

Rather than wind up operations, the Vasey RSL Care board has a well-considered strategic plan to continue to meet the demand from older veterans and their dependants (who make up more than 70 per cent of our current residents and tenants) while adapting to serve the needs of younger veterans and those in transition, with services such as supportive accommodation, employment and general and mental health support.

“We want to expand our services where veterans need them most, such as in regional Victoria and the western suburbs of Melbourne,” said Janna Voloshin.

Department of Veterans Affairs figures show that demand for the organisation’s services will continue to be strong, with veteran numbers in Victoria predicted to increase by almost 22 per cent over the next decade. Already one in four veterans are younger, and with up to 6000 service men and women leaving the Australian Defence Force every year this will only increase.

The President of RSL Victoria has stated that his organisation entered into an agreement with the Guild to sell Vasey RSL Care because of an expected drop in veteran numbers. We know that the reverse is occurring; veteran numbers are strongly growing. The President of RSL Victoria has also questioned whether Vasey RSL Care can admit non-veterans, under the terms of its patriotic fund status. However, we have written advice from the regulator, Consumer Affairs Victoria, that there is no set ratio of veterans to non-veterans to which we should adhere.

“We want to work with RSL Victoria and the Guild on exciting plans to better support the veteran community. We need your help to highlight the importance of our aged care services and ensure we operate beyond the 2023 deadline given to us by RSL Victoria and the Guild,” Janna added.

How you can help

Vasey RSL Care is asking supporters to get behind our campaign by contacting RSL Victoria and the Guild to ask them to commit to a strong future for Vasey RSL Care.

You can help by:

Contacting the President of RSL Victoria, Dr Robert Webster OAM by email or send your message of support to communications@vaseyrslcare.org.au and we will pass it on.
Contacting the President of the Guild, Mrs Wendy Charlton, by sending a message t0 communications@vaseyrslcare.org.au which we will pass on.

Read the letters from our community