Statement From RSL NSW on Concord RSL Club

RSL NSW is not connected legally with Concord RSL Club or any other registered club. The operation of the club as a business has always been the responsibility of the board and members of that club.

RSL NSW is a charity set up by an act of the NSW parliament to respect, support and remember veterans and their families. Registered clubs, like Concord RSL Club, are organisations set up for the benefit of their members and are not charities. Concord District RSL sub-Branch (now closed) was a charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) and was a separate charity to RSL NSW.

In 2018 it was brought to the attention of RSL NSW that Concord District RSL sub-Branch had loaned substantial charitable monies unsecured, interest free and without the required consent under the constitution of RSL NSW to Concord RSL Club. As a result, RSL NSW State Council removed the Executive and Trustees of the Concord District RSL sub-Branch and reported the matter to the ACNC.

RSL NSW called a meeting of the remaining sub-Branch members to seek nominations and elect new Executive and Trustees. At that meeting, no members wished to nominate and none expressed a desire to continue the sub-Branch. Sadly, RSL NSW had no alternative but to close the Concord District RSL sub-Branch and work with the remaining members to reallocate them to another sub-Branch of their choice.

Concord District RSL sub-Branch owned the land that was leased by the Club, and the ownership of this land transferred from the Trustees of the sub-Branch to RSL NSW when the sub-Branch closed.

Earlier this year, RSL NSW was advised the Directors of the Concord RSL Club had placed the Club into voluntary administration. RSL NSW, the entity that now owns the assets of the former sub-Branch (including the land and loaned monies to the registered Club), is a creditor and lessor.

On 12 June all of the creditors of the Club, including the Club’s employees, approved the entry into a deed of company arrangement by the Club. RSL NSW has been notified by the Administrator that the Concord RSL Club will cease trading this week, while arrangements for a proposed amalgamation with another registered club under the deed of company arrangement are still being progressed.

RSL NSW has no intention to develop the site. RSL NSW plans to sell the site, and is currently in an exclusive due diligence period with a potential purchaser. The application lodged with NSW Planning by an unrelated third party is a site compatibility certificate application and is unconnected with the current negotiations between RSL NSW and the potential purchaser.

For many years, there has been no formal lease in place. The Club has occupied the premises on the basis of a monthly tenancy. When the Club was placed into voluntary administration by the Directors of the Club, RSL NSW notified the Administrator that Club’s monthly tenancy arrangement would come to an end, either when the Club entered the proposed deed of company arrangement or went into liquidation, whichever occurred first. The Administrator is vacating the premises earlier than expected.

Media Contact: David Wolf 0411 111 787 david@closer.com.au