As we head into the summer break, I wanted to share a few updates that highlight what’s been happening across the College—from progress on fees, to ideas that are shaping our practice, to the campaign that will soon amplify the value of FRACS. 

Greater clarity on fees
We’ve put in a lot of work over the last two years to make the College more efficient and our finances more sustainable. That work is paying off and has enabled us to deliver a 0% fee increase for the Fellowship subscription fee for a second year in a row. For Trainees, we have reduced the RACS component of the SET fee by 5% in 2026, building on the 0% increase for 2025.

We also want to bring greater transparency to how fees are set, what they fund, and how RACS works for you. The recent SET fee update is a good example of this: it explains the critical role RACS plays in training and how fees are allocated across different activities. One point many Trainees (and indeed Fellows) may not be aware of is that 20% of the RACS component is returned to specialty societies each year as a governance support payment.  

We’ve also mapped how fees have evolved over time by specialty and by country, to give a clearer picture of how the different components sit together. I encourage you to take a look.

An insight from the ACT ASM
Last month I attended the RACS ACT Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). I find the RACS ASMs such enjoyable events and I love catching up with other members from across the College network.

But it is the presentations themselves that I often find myself thinking about long after the event has passed.

One talk from day-one of the ACT ASM in particular has stayed with me—Professor Charles Mosse’s session on A new paradigm for clinical consent. He explored how AI helps support patient education and check understanding, moving consent beyond a checkbox exercise to something more meaningful.

Through platforms like ConsentED, technology makes it easy for surgeons to verify patient understanding, including if there are aspects of their treatment plan they are less sure about.

It was a reminder that our profession continues to evolve, and that thoughtful innovation, combined with human judgement, can strengthen the trust patients place in us.

The FRACS brand campaign – a promise in practice
You will soon start to see the launch of our FRACS brand campaign.

For RACS Fellows, FRACS is not just a post-nominal. It’s our shared mark of trust—a gold standard earned through rigorous training, professional conduct, and a commitment to lifelong learning. It signals who we are as a profession.

The purpose of the campaign is to remind colleagues, hospitals, referrers and the public to look for FRACS as a signal of quality, safety and excellence. Through stories from Fellows, it will highlight FRACS as a promise: a commitment to excellence in practice, education, mentorship, advocacy and more.

As someone who originally trained with an overseas college, FRACS, to me, is a promise in belonging. Achieving FRACS gave me a sense of being part of profession that holds itself to high standards and takes collective responsibility for training, patient care and future workforce leadership in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. I’m very proud of my FRACS post-nominal and look forward to seeing how the campaign will raise the profile of those five important letters.

Wishing you a safe and restful break
Thank you for everything you’ve contributed this year—to your teams, your colleagues, your patients and our College. I hope you get time to rest and recharge over the holidays, and I look forward to working with you in the new year.

Warm regards,
Professor Ray Sacks
Vice President