{"id":618195,"date":"2026-04-20T01:23:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T01:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/618195\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T01:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T01:23:16","slug":"service-club-wants-legislation-changed-after-rsl-refuses-anzac-day-two-up-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/618195\/","title":{"rendered":"Service club wants legislation changed after RSL refuses Anzac Day two-up request"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lachlan Brown was 17 when he joined the military.<\/p>\n

Twenty years later, with tours of Iraq and Afghanistan under his belt, the customs he developed in the army have become a part of his culture.<\/p>\n

But this year, his typical Anzac Day routine of a dawn service, march and gunfire breakfast with rum and milk will be missing one key component.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Lachlan Brown says he would never tell another veteran how they could commemorate Anzac Day. (ABC Wide Bay: Nikki Sorbello)<\/p>\n

The game of two-up has been denied to his local ex-service organisation, upsetting veterans on what Mr Brown already calls a “day to grieve”.<\/p>\n

“We just don’t understand because, personally, I’d never tell another veteran what to do on Anzac Day,” Mr Brown said.<\/p>\n

“That’s not my right and it shouldn’t be anyone’s right.”<\/p>\n

No explanation for refusal<\/p>\n

Mr Brown is president of the Monto Services Club in the small North Burnett town, five hours north of Brisbane.<\/p>\n

The club formed in 2021 and took over all Anzac Day services in 2022 when the town’s RSL sub-branch could not host them.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

In Queensland, services clubs without a liquor licence require permission from an RSL club to host two-up events. (ABC Wide Bay: Nikki Sorbello)<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, the Monto Services Club has had 400 people at its dawn service and even more at the town march.<\/p>\n

There has not been a problem obtaining permission to play two-up at its gunfire breakfast in the past.<\/p>\n

But this year, the request to play was denied, with no reason given.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Monto RSL sub-branch refused the request of the Monto Services Club to play two-up on Anzac Day. (ABC Wide Bay: Grace Whiteside)<\/p>\n

Monto RSL sub-branch president Robyn Ellis said the five voting members of its committee unanimously voted to reject the application, instead inviting Monto Services Club members to join them for two-up on Anzac Day.<\/p>\n

Any RSL branch can approve the club’s request but appeals to neighbouring RSLs have also been denied.<\/p>\n

It is not the first time the legislation has impacted Anzac Day events hosted by an ex-service organisation (ESO).<\/p>\n

In 2023, the Bundaberg RSL sub-branch withdrew its support for the gunfire breakfast and two-up games at Bargara, four hours north of Brisbane, leading to both events being cancelled.<\/p>\n

Organisation ‘shouldn’t matter’<\/p>\n

The game of two-up began as a pastime for soldiers in battlefield trenches.<\/p>\n

It involves a wooden board, called a kip, with two coins on it, which are flipped into the air.<\/p>\n

Punters bet on which way the coins will land.<\/p>\n

\"Diggers<\/p>\n

Australian soldiers playing two-up in Ypres, Belgium, in 1917. (Supplied: Australian War Memorial, E01199)<\/p>\n

Laws vary from state to state, but in Queensland, the Charitable and Non-Profit Gaming Act 1999 says playing two-up is only allowed on Anzac Day, and only at an RSL or Services Club that has a liquor licence.<\/p>\n

No commission can be charged on wagers, with all money to be returned to players as winnings.<\/p>\n

For anyone wanting to play at a different licensed venue as part of an Anzac Day function, they must have written approval from a local RSL sub-branch.<\/p>\n

\"Australians<\/p>\n

Australians soldiers playing two-up in Afghanistan, in 2011. (ABC licensed: CPL Ricky Fuller, Department of Defence)<\/p>\n

Mr Brown said while the RSL was the biggest ex-services organisation in Australia, it was not the only one.<\/p>\n

“Lots of generations of soldiers have come back and the systems that are in place might not fit, or make them feel comfortable in that setting,” he said.<\/p>\n

“You shouldn’t be forced to do something that you don’t feel comfortable doing.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Errol Priestley says as no money is made from two-up games, it should not matter if multiple veterans groups play it. (ABC Wide Bay: Nikki Sorbello)<\/p>\n

Errol Priestley, a Vietnam veteran and former president of the Monto RSL sub-branch said it should not matter which organisation people belonged to.<\/p>\n

“For the RSL to give permission is no skin off their nose,” Mr Priestley said.<\/p>\n

“Nobody makes money out of two-up. It’s just that traditional thing that makes diggers feel like they’re part of it.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Simon Stanhope says the legislation around two-up needs to change so all service clubs can play on Anzac Day. (ABC Wide Bay: Nikki Sorbello)<\/p>\n

Simon Stanhope, also a Vietnam veteran, said it was a big failing in the legislation.<\/p>\n

“It discriminates against us. The legislation should be changed so that any ex-service organisation can play on Anzac Day,” Mr Stanhope said.<\/p>\n

“Legally, we are on the exact same footing as the RSL. We are an equal organisation.<\/p>\n

“We’ve done it forever and the fact that they’re saying we can’t do it, it just makes you wild.”<\/p>\n

Legislation ‘outdated’<\/p>\n

Queensland Premier and Minister for Veterans David Crisafulli passed questions from the ABC onto the Department of Justice about why the legislation required ESOs to seek approval from the RSL.<\/p>\n

The department said the approach helped ensure activity was conducted in a way that reflected the day’s significance.<\/p>\n

It would not provide further comment on why the RSL was involved in the approval process.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Two pennies similar to those used in two-up on floorboards. (Supplied: Gavan Michael)<\/p>\n

RSL Queensland would also not comment on the legislation or the organisation’s role in the approval process, simply saying it welcomed a collaborative approach for all two-up activities on Anzac Day.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ben Wadham is the director of a research initiative at Flinders University. (ABC News: Guido Salazar)<\/p>\n

Flinders University professor Ben Wadham specialises in veteran welfare and said allowing ESOs to run two-up without requiring permission from the RSL would make the tradition more inclusive.<\/p>\n

“It shouldn’t really just be the preserve of one veteran-sector organisation,” Professor Wadham said.<\/p>\n

“You’re going to get a bigger uptake and a greater sense of that bonding and camaraderie on Anzac Day if you open it up to other legitimate veterans and ex-service organisations.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Andrew Prevett is a PhD candidate at Flinders University. (ABC News: Guido Salazar)<\/p>\n

Andrew Prevett, a veteran and PhD candidate at Flinders University, said there were more than 5,000 veteran-support organisations across Australia, making the Queensland legislation outdated.<\/p>\n

“That probably needs to change alongside acknowledgement that the veteran community has evolved,” Mr Prevett said.<\/p>\n

“The landscape has significantly changed and to continue to allow one particular organisation to hold gatekeeping over the Australian tradition of two-up on Anzac Day, just seems it goes against what it is to be a veteran, an Australian, on Anzac Day.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

In Queensland, two-up is illegal outside of Anzac Day and is synonymous with Australian diggers. (ABC Wide Bay: Grace Whiteside)<\/p>\n

For Lachlan Brown in Monto, playing two-up is deeply personal.<\/p>\n

“I remember doing it in battalion with blokes that I served with and that’s my connection point back to them, like someone might smell or hear a piece of music and remember a memory,” he said.<\/p>\n

He said this time of year was always emotional, without adding other pressures.<\/p>\n

“It just caused a hell of a lot of mental strain, and we shouldn’t have to be dealing with it,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It should just be a simple thing that just happens.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lachlan Brown was 17 when he joined the military. Twenty years later, with tours of Iraq and Afghanistan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[85102,64,63,299741,295612,299742,299743,44,31368,237326,115037,299740,299739,38303],"class_list":{"0":"post-618195","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-anzac-day","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-dawn-service","12":"tag-digger","13":"tag-gunfire-breakfast","14":"tag-monto-rsl","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-north-burnett","17":"tag-regional-queensland","18":"tag-rsl","19":"tag-service-club","20":"tag-two-up","21":"tag-veteran"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}