The Royal Societies of Australia held the Annual Meeting of Australia’s Royal Societies for 2025 on Thursday and Friday 20 and 21 November 2025 at the Royal Society of Victoria (RSV), Melbourne. The RSV very kindly hosted the meeting in their heritage building opposite Carlton Gardens in the CBD. Representatives of all six Australian Royal Societies attended.

RSA Annual Meeting attendees at RSV

RSA Annual Meeting attendees (l to r) Richard Harper (RSWA), Emma Couth (RSV), Bruce Ramage (RSA), Caroline McMillen (RSV), Andy Grodecki (RSQ), John Hardie (RSA), Jasmine Schipp (AAS), Ian Chubb (AAS), Rob Gell (RSV), Christina Slade (RSNSW), Julie Rimes (RST), Don Garden (RST), Wayne Harvey (RSSA), AAS, Stephen Hill (RST) in the Cudmore Library at the Royal Society of Victoria.

The meeting provided an opportunity for Royal Societies to share their achievements and operational experiences and to participate in planning for 2026. The meeting also heard from Professor Ian Chubb AC on his work leading the Australian Academy of Science project, Australian Science, Australia’s Future: Science 2035 and the role Australia’s Royal Societies can play in facilitating the changes necessary to turn around the trends identified in the report. Professor Chubb also discussed the Strategic Examination of Research and Development in Australia project where he is a member of the four-person review committee. It was clear that Australia’s Royal Societies could play an active role in communicating the outcomes of the review, scheduled for completion by the end of 2025.

In addition to the meeting, the RSA was pleased to host a special dinner at Cumulus Inc in Flinders Lane on the Thursday evening when RSV Councillors were invited to have an opportunity to meet representatives of other Royal Societies and discuss areas of mutual interest.

On the Friday afternoon a small group from the meeting enjoyed a wonderful opportunity to witness behind-the-scenes work being conducted at Melbourne Museum a short distance away. The RSA is very grateful to Dr Dermot Henry and his staff at the museum for their time and for generously imparting their expertise in a variety of discipline areas in the museum.