From Conferences to Commemorations — Another Eventful Week in Club Land

It was a busy week on the events front for the club industry!

The Clubs Australia WR&HR Conference kicked off on Monday, with surfing champion Layne Beachley delivering the opening keynote address, while Tuesday saw the doors of the ICC Sydney fly open for the first day of the Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE). 

I popped into the AGE on Wednesday morning, and it was great to bump into so many familiar club faces, as well as several of our corporate partners. More than 7500 people are estimated to have walked through the expo over the course of the three days — a great result given the fairly miserable weather here in Sydney this week.

While I was exploring the AGE, Rebecca was at the Victory in the Pacific Commemoration March and Service, which started at Cabra-Vale Diggers and concluded at Cabra-Vale Memorial Park. The event honoured and remembered those involved in the Pacific conflict and was arranged by Cabra-Vale Diggers, Mounties and St Johns Park Bowling Club, as well as six RSL Sub Branches from Bankstown to Campbelltown. You can read more about the event here.

Above: Cabra-Vale Diggers President Walter Robinson OAM, Governor of NSW Margaret Beazley, RSL & Services Clubs Association CEO Margot Smith, ClubsNSW CEO Rebecca Riant.

There has been a lot of talk recently about vibrancy reforms — many of which commenced on 1 July, including changes to the noise complaints process for licensed premises and a simplified consultation procedure for liquor licence applications (you can read more about those here).

It was also encouraging this week to hear that the Minns Labor Government is working to reduce even more red tape for the industry in a bid to rebuild nightlife and vibrancy across the state. On that front, if your club is doing something unique in this space — whether it be hosting a festival of some sort or even increasing your live music and entertainment offering — please let the ClubLIFE team know via email at [email protected].

As you might have seen yesterday, Liquor and Gaming NSW is hosting a ClubGRANTS Webinar next Thursday, 22 August at 10am. The one-hour webinar will cover annual returns, applications and reports, 2021-22 audit learnings and more. You can find additional information and register here.

A few quick reminders:

• Earlier this week, ClubsNSW issued advice for clubs wishing to install a Digital Wagering Lounge. If you missed it, you can catch up here.
• GambleAware Week is coming up in October. You can find more information — including how to register an event for the campaign — here.
• ClubsNSW also recently distributed an important notice about the roles and responsibilities of local committees under the ClubGRANTS Guidelines. You can read about them here.

Have a lovely weekend!