110th National Council

The RNZRSA's 110th National Council will be held in Wellington over the period 21 - 22 November 2026. The venue for National Council is the Rydges Hotel, 75 Featherston Street.

Planning for National Council is underway and this page will be regularly updated as information becomes available.

Page last updated: 17 September 2026

Registration

In accordance with RNZRSA Constitution para 18.30, each Association and Affiliate member may register one delegate and up to two observers to attend National Council.

Registrations are now open.

Delegates and observers can register for National Council using the form found here.

Elections - call for nominations

Elections will be held to appoint one National Vice-President to fill the position left vacant following the appointment of Tony Hill to National President at last year's National Council.

Nominations are now open for those interested in standing for the role of National Vice-President. The nomination forms can be found at the bottom of the page.

A position description can be downloaded at the bottom of this page for those wishing to learn more about the responsibilities of a National Vice-President.

Nominations can be made by email to nationalcouncil@rsa.org.nz and must include:

A completed nomination form
A completed election candidate biography questionnaire
A copy of the candidate's CV

Nominations for National Vice-President must be received no later than Friday 2 October 2026.

Under the provisions of the RNZRSA Constitution, voting for this position must be conducted in accordance with the remote voting process set out in clauses 18.40 to 18.54.

Associations will be required to submit their votes via email or post using the forms that will be distributed with the Notice of National Council.

More information on the mechanics of the voting process will be released soon.

Notices of Motion

We’re now working through the Notice of Motion process set out in the Royal New Zealand RSA’s Constitution.

Members had until 1 June to raise any matters they wanted considered at the AGM through the appropriate representative, for RSA Member Associations, that meant through their District President.

Those matters were then passed to the Presidents’ Forum, which considered them and decided whether any should be progressed as formal motions to the AGM.

Notices of motion to be considered at this year’s National Council will be released to Associations via the Notice of National Council scheduled for release on 30 October 2026.

Voting

Voting rights at National Council are set out in para 18.37 of the RNZRSA Constitution.

Each Association shall have two votes, to be cast by their Delegate during the AGM.

Board Members, Forum Members, the RNZRSA Kaumātua, RNZRSA Life Members and Affliliates shall have one vote.

No proxies are permitted.

National Council Programme

The full agenda for National Council is still being developed and will be released with the Notice of National Council.

The draft programme can be found below. Details of the content of the Challenges and Opportunities for the RNZRSA sessions will be shared soon, but these interactive discussions will provide the opportunity for Associations to help shape the future direction of the RNZRSA.

21 Nov - Day One

9.00am - Doors and Registrations open
10.00am - Mihi Whakatau and official opening
12.00pm - Lunch
12.45pm - AGM
3.30pm - Sentinel Launch

22 Nov - Day Two

9.00am - Karakia
9.15am - Challenges and Opportunities for the RNZRSA (interactive discussion)
12.00pm - Lunch
12.45pm - Challenges and Opportunities for the RNZRSA cont
2.30pm - Awared/Farewells
3.00pm - End of National Council

Accommodation and Transport

Associations and Affiliate members are responsible for organising transport to and around Wellington, and accommodation for their delegate and observers.

We know that accommodation in central Wellington is expensive, and we’re very conscious that attending National Council already represents a significant cost for Member Associations.

The RNZRSA has been working with a number of hotels close to the conference venue to secure discounted accommodation options for attendees. While we have been able to negotiate some savings, the level of discount available has been limited because we’re unable to guarantee how many rooms will be booked at each hotel. Most hotels reserve their strongest rates for confirmed bulk bookings.

The discounted rates we’ve secured are still a meaningful saving on standard Wellington CBD prices, but we appreciate they remain a significant expense for Associations. We’ve included a range of nearby options so you can choose what works best for your budget and circumstances.

Accommodation options:

Quest on Johnston
35 Johnston Street, Wellington Central, Wellington 6143 (3 min walk to venue)
Studio - $195 per night
One bedroom - $215 per night
Rooms can be booked directly through email reservations@questonjohnston.co.nz using the code RSA2026.

Wellesley Boutique Hotel
2/8 Maginnity Street, Wellington Central, Wellington 6011 (3-4 min walk to venue)
A Classic room $209 per night per room (discounted from $259).
This is an accommodation rate only.
Rooms must be booked directly with Fiona Voisey and paid on booking:
reception@wellesleyboutiquehotel.co.nz

Ibis Wellington
153 Featherston Street, Wellington Central (2-3 min walk to venue)
15% discount offered on their flexible rate of the day. Discount can be accessed via the following link: RNZRSA National Council 2026 - Accor Meetings & Events

Rydges Hotel

For those wishing to stay at the conference venue, the hotel has set up a special page for bookings at discount rates. Please note, this is high end accommodation and this is reflected in the rates (even discounted). We have been advised that the rates available on this page are “dynamic” and change over time which we appreciate is not necessarily helpful to Associations.

The discount rates can be found here: https://www.rydges.com/private-page/rnzrsa-national-council/

We’ll continue to look for any opportunities to reduce costs where we can, and hope these options make planning your trip to Wellington a little easier.

Parking

There is no parking available at the conference venue for anyone not staying in the hotel's accommodation. We will provide nearby parking options for delegates soon.

Meals

Lunch and refreshments will be provided at the venue on both days of National Council. Associations are responsible for providing all other meals for their delegates.