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The Australian federal government is exploring a range of Defence recruitment opportunities including utilising agreements with Pacific partners, according to Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans’ Affairs Matt Keogh.
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The government is pursuing staffing opportunities with friendly nations as it attempts to stem a 10 per cent drain per year of personnel from the Australian Defence Force, according to public comments made by then-acting Defence Minister Keogh on 5 January.
“We are looking at a range of options about how we can grow our (Australian) Defence Force, and that includes looking at how we can use our relationships with our friendly countries, countries that we’re friendly with not just in our region, but around the globe,” Keogh told ABC Radio.
“Doing it in a way in partnership with those countries ... we want to make sure that they have good workforces themselves are able to sustain their own Defence forces.
“But we are certainly looking at all options that we need to look at in terms of how we can grow our (Australian) Defence Force. And that includes looking at how we might be able to grow it from friendly forces from other countries and looking at opportunities for people to come to Australia, or who are already in Australia, from other countries to join our Defence force.
“That’s a process we need to work through because as I’m sure, people would appreciate issues like citizenship, background checks, vetting are also important about who we allow to join our Defence force.”
The comments follow a major push for increased diplomatic relations with Australia’s Indo-Pacific neighbours, including the signing of elevated bilateral relationship with the South Pacific nation of Tuvalu in November last year.
“Certainly, we’re looking at the Pacific but we’re also looking more broadly than that, because we recognise the importance of growing our Defence Force,” Minister Keogh said.
“We’re also looking at issues … how can we attract people, potentially from other countries that are in Australia to join our Defence Force as well.
“We already have ways in which we allow for what we call lateral transfer, people moving from the UK, Royal Navy, or from the United States or Canada, other countries, friendly countries.”
In addition, Minister Keogh said the government is offering a number of incentives for domestic recruitment including expansion of family health benefits, study assistance schemes, improved higher duties allowances, and travel policies to make the ADF as attractive as possible.
