Returned & Services League Victorian Branch

The story behind the picture

A tender moment between an Australian soldier and a local East Timorese boy captured against the backdrop of brutality and destruction was immortalised in a photograph 25 years ago. Today, we bring you the story behind the photograph.

Your RSL

Providing the best possible support & services to all generations of Veterans in Victoria.

Trekking for a good cause

A former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) veteran is preparing to test his limits and trek the Kokoda Track to raise money for Police Veterans Victoria (PVV).

MUFTI | Volume 65

Read MUFTI online today.

Our Services

Veteran Support

RSL Victoria is here to provide assistance and support to past and present service personnel and their families.

Royal Commission

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has begun. RSL Victoria has created this hub of information about the Royal Commission, including our submission and a range of support services available.

Get Involved

There is more than one way to get involved with the RSL. Find out more here.

We invite you to share in their stories...

Buglers Take to the Melbourne CBD for Remembrance Day Tribute

Watch our 2023 Remembrance Day Tribute here.

MUFTI

Sub-Branch's touching acts for veteran during dying days

The family of a veteran has come forward to thank the RSL for giving their relative dignity in his dying days.

MUFTI

From the Murray River to Vietnam

When Uncle Graham Atkinson’s number was drawn in the national draft for the Vietnam War, he stepped up without hesitation. Of course, he didn’t have to.

Nine times through hell and back

Corporal Hugh Hince, walked the Kokoda Track nine times during his WWII service with the 1st Australian War Graves Maintenance Unit. Nine times through one of the most gruelling theatres of war, searching for and retrieving the remains of soldiers lost on the frontline. His is a story of resilience and faith.

Mental toughness and its role in our successes

Francine Dudfield has scaled cliff-faces, traversed through caves and provided life-saving support in her role as an Army Medic. Her physical strength is undeniable, but the real key to her success is in her mental stamina.

I was only 19: An unofficial national anthem

“Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunal”; These are the opening words to John Schumann’s I Was Only 19, a song that means so much to many. In a Mufti exclusive, John chats about the inspiration behind this ‘unofficial national anthem’ and how this song has changed his life.

The Unsung Heroes of Remembrance

In 2023, Australians commemorated more than 80 years since some of the biggest battles and most tragic events from the Pacific war. But there is a story missing from the narrative on Australia’s wartime experience in the Pacific.