June Column: ClubsNSW CEO Rebecca Riant

It was a truly special evening, and such a powerful reminder of the difference clubs make in communities right across NSW. To all of our winners, highly commended recipients and every club that was nominated, congratulations! The standard of this year’s story nominations was extraordinary, and that says so much about the effort and care that clubs put into supporting their communities every single day. Whether it was helping people facing homelessness, backing grassroots sport, strengthening local health care services or facilitating social inclusion, the stories recognised on the night were inspiring and deeply moving.

What made me even prouder was seeing those stories reach far beyond the room on the night. The coverage of the Awards in The Daily Telegraph — including the double-page spread announcing the winners and highly commended clubs — helped shine a spotlight on the work of clubs to a much broader audience, building on the earlier four-page lift-out highlighting the finalists. Together with the broader media coverage that followed — from the pages of The Echo up in the Northern Rivers to the airwaves of Triple M News down in the Riverina — it has helped more people understand what all of us in the industry already know: clubs are not just places people go; they are places that step up, pitch in and help hold communities together.

Last week, I was also extremely pleased to see the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) publicly praise clubs for their participation in Purple Friday on their website (you can read the story here). Their acknowledgement of the practical support clubs can provide to people impacted by domestic violence was a wonderful endorsement of what was such a meaningful initiative. It was fantastic to have several ILGA board members attend the Clubs & Community Awards Night this year, too. 

There is plenty to look forward to in the months ahead! Tickets for the 2026 ClubsNSW Conference & AGM are now on sale, and it is shaping up to be a fabulous event. With an address from AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas, a keynote session with performance and leadership coach (and bestselling author!) Dan Haesler and a series of expert-led breakout sessions, it will be one of the biggest dates on the industry calendar this year. I encourage you to secure your tickets early and to get behind the Clubs Helping Clubs initiative. For larger clubs, that means considering the purchase of a few extra tickets so a smaller or regional club can attend (which you can do here). For smaller clubs, it means putting your hand up and expressing interest in attending (which you can do here). One of the things I love most about this industry is that, when it matters, clubs back one another — and the Clubs Helping Clubs initiative is such a practical and generous example of that. 

Tickets are also still available for the 2026 Workplace Relations & Human Resources Conference taking place on Monday, 10 August at Liverpool Catholic Club. This is always such a worthwhile event for people-leaders across our sector, with a strong focus on practical workplace issues, employment law and building resilient teams. This year’s guest speakers include Dr Jana Pittman and Andy Nunn, both of whom will no doubt bring fresh perspectives and plenty of value to the day.

Finally, I want to acknowledge everyone who took part in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout last week, including Wests Illawarra CEO Danny Munk, Bankstown RSL COO Kate Hodge, Fraternity Club CEO Glenn Ward and C.ex Group CEO John Rafferty. Club Dubbo CEO Brett Lane has also helped tackle homelessness by separately staging the Club Dubbo CEO & Community Sleepout. Choosing to step outside your comfort zone to support people doing it tough is an incredibly generous thing to do, and it speaks volumes about the kind of leadership we see in our industry. ClubsNSW was proud to donate to the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, and in the coming weeks we will release a ClubTV piece highlighting the role clubs play in lending a hand to those who need it most in our communities — because that is what we do best.