SUBCON 2026 June Update

The feedback provided has helped our SUBCON26 planning greatly. The main purpose of this email is to bring you up to speed with the current status of our SUBCON26 Plan.

Attendance. All venues have adequate capacity to accommodate all those who expressed an EOI and more. The meet and greet venue has room for another 40 and the Australian War Memorial has room for over 100.

Although the EOI phase was closed at the end of March we have left it open and this has enabled some late comers to sign on. Please see the EOI list attached and the events that they have signed up for. Currently we have the following attendance numbers:

Friday M and G =204

Saturday Dinner/Dance at the AWM =231

Sunday AGM =115

Sunday BBQ = 180

Sponsors. We have received some generous support from Jenkins Engineering Defence Systems and also from the Submarine Institute Australia. We very much appreciate their kindsupport and are proud to promote both organisations. We continue to seek sponsorship and are hopeful that more sponsors will come onboard.

Distinguished Guest/Speaker - Dinner Dance. We are awaiting a formal response from CN desig RADM Matthew Buckley. We have it on good authority that CN's diary has him at the SUBCON26 Dinner Dance on 24 October. We are reasonably confident that RADM Buckley will accept the invitation after he is officially appointed CN next month. If CN is unavailable then we are assured that a flag ranked officer will attend.

Bus Transport. Thanks to those who completed the survey. Its purpose was to determine how many buses would be required to transport attendees to and from events. However, the number of those who completed the survey was significantly less than those who submitted an EOI to attend. Additionally, some people who are not on the EOI list to attend have indicated that they require bus transport to SUBCON26 events. Based on the results of the bus survey about 125 of those on the EOI list do not require bus transport and will be making their own way to the AWM Dinner Dance. Anyway, the Bus Survey is still open so please go ahead and complete it if you need to use the bus service to travel to the events. Bus Survey is here: link:https://form.jotform.com/261218891568064 Also, there will be a $10 return per person for each journey on the bus. This will be collected when you officially register next month.

Merchandise/Raffles/Auction. Merchandise is being discussed with the official SAA provider. We are considering options for a Raffle and/or a Silent Auction. Some excellent SM memorabilia has been donated. This is an opportunity to raise some funds for this and the next SUBCON. Details will be provided in due course.

Official SUBCON26 Registration: The plan is to commence the registration and payment process in approx 3 weeks from 09-31July. Details of the registration process will be forwarded to all those on the EOI list/SAA State Secretaries in the coming weeks. Those who have not paid the deposit can wait until they register for the event if you wish.

This SUBCON26 is shaping up to be an excellent gathering of Submariners both Serving and Veteran. We hope to see you there. Travel well.

Thank you.

Kind Regards

Stan Nimmo

SUBCON26 planning team member.

Dear SAA Members and Friends,

The SUBCON26 Expression of Interest (EOI) has closed. The current EOI numbers are as follows:

Meet and Greet =202

Gala Dinner/Dance =230

SAA AGM = 114

Farewell BBQ =178

The EOI numbers far exceed our expectations. The good news is that all venues have sufficient capacity to accommodate the EOI numbers. Now, we just need to figure out how to get you to and from all venues.

To help us determine the requirement for bus transport could you please complete the SUBCON2026 Bus Survey here:form . The aim of this survey is to determine who needs bus transport, where you are staying or intend to stay and then use the resultant information to secure suitable bus transport by 01 June. FYI...The Mantra MacArthur hotel is considered part of the Canberra CBD area.

We hope to have a good understanding of the Bus requirement by our next SUBCON26 planning meeting on Tuesday 12 May. Therefore, it would be appreciated if you could complete the bus survey as soon as possible. Sorry for the short notice. If you miss the deadline please complete the form by 25 May.

If you have not booked your accommodation yet could you please complete the bus survey based on your anticipated pickup location on the survey pulldown menu. Only complete the form if you intend to use the bus service.

The venue locations are also listed on the pulldown menu ie: Hotels in the Kingston/Manuka area are close to the M and G and AGM venue (Eastlakes Footy club). The Mercure is located near Campbell close to the Australian War Memorial venue for the Saturday night Gala Dinner dance and Black Mountain Peninsula (BBQ) is closest to the CBD area and 15 minutes from Kingston. The CBD (Canberra City) area is central to all venue locations.

Only complete the form if you intend to use the bus service

Although the EOI process has shut, we may reopen the sign up process when we finalise attendance numbers in July. Thanks to you all for your interest and we look forward to hosting you here in Canberra in October.

Thanks for your assistance.

Kind Regards

Stan Nimmo

SAA ACT Branch Secretary.

Hotel information 

Dear Members and Friends,

Thanks again for signing up to SUBCON2026.

We have secured a flexible deal at the Mantra MacArthur Hotel which is reasonably priced. I recommend that you book as soon as possible. We think that the terms and conditions are very acceptable. However, hotel rates have dropped recently so there are other options available. Details are as follows.

The Mantra MacArthur hotel is located within a short distance of the Canberra CBD and approx 500 metres from the Ainslie footy club. The hotel is the refurbished Northbourne House building for those who know Canberra. The hotel is modern. It has a restaurant and bar. Underground Parking is available at $15 per day. Free on street parking is also available, especially on the weekend.

You have 2 options (Subcon dates Friday 23Oct to Monday 26 Oct)

1. A 10% discount that applies to all rooms and includes no up front payment and free cancellation up until the day before checking into the hotel. Also Breakfast is offered for $26 p/p reduced from $32. This deal offers a small King Studio for 137 p/n or a larger King Deluxe room for $155 p/n are examples of p/n costs but rooms in the hotel are offered under this flexible deal.

Pros: The 10% discount deal is worry free - no cancellation fee up until one day prior to check-in and no up front payment. Also a breakfast discount is offered if booked more than 1 day before arrival.

Cons. More expensive than the current online standard rate (not flexible).

2. Opt to go for the currently online advertised standard rate. These rooms are paid for at the time of booking and you pay a fee for cancelling your booking. Additionally, at the time of booking you will be offered a further 5% off the standard rate if you join the ACCOR club (free). At the moment that rate for club members is $101 p/n for the King Studio...So an excellent deal if you are willing to pay up front and take the cancellation risk.

Pros: Currently much cheaper especially if you join the Accor Club (free) to receive the 5% off the standard rate.

Cons: Pay up front, no free cancellation.

I suggest that you go to the link below to access the Accor online booking search engine. Enter Mantra MacArthur hotel, Your Dates of stay and number of guests/rooms. This will bring up the hotel's cheaper standard room rates...i.e. not the flexible rate.

To access the flexible 10% discount deal go to the link below

1. click on the ALL Accor live Limitless link below
2. Enter Mantra MacArthur Hotel, Dates of stay and number of Guests/Rooms
3. Click 'SPECIAL RATES' ...under CHOOSE RATE on the far right. Right click the arrow and chose PROMO Code
4. Enter ARGRP26 in the box below and click CONFIRM
The 10% discount rates will be shown for each room.
See below for details
I hope this is useful. It's been difficult to deal with hotels...you cannot negotiate with the manager anymore. This is the only deal that the SUBCON planning committee will negotiate. At the moment there are some very good deals online. We only ask that you choose to stay in the CBD or Kingston/Manuka area. This will help us provide a cost effective and efficient bus transport.
With regards to bus transport we will probably ask you to complete a survey on the website so that we can determine the number of attendees who would use the service. We had done some early modeling on 100 pax and bumped that up to 130 pax for our quotes! We got that wrong...now probably close to 190 needing bus transport to the Gala Dinner!
Regards
Stan Nimmo
SAA ACT Branch Secretary
HOW TO BOOK:
Book directly on our site: ALL - Accor Live Limitless | Hotels Stays & Exclusive Deals
Promo code: ARGRP26
Condition of sale: Room Only, No pre-payment required, cancel up to 1 day prior to arrival date.
Breakfast: can be booked for $32 per person on the day, or $26 per person more than 1 day prior to arrival.