Australia loses thousands of soldiers every year and struggles to recruit new personnel to close the gap: ‘It’s pretty scary’
- Australian Defense Force cannot hold soldiers
- Each year, 6,600 soldiers leave the armed forces
Australia’s inability to recruit enough new members of the armed forces and retain current personnel has been labeled “pretty scary”.
A parliamentary committee is exploring new ways to attract and retain people for the armed forces as the Australian Defense Force faces high staff turnover and failure to meet growth targets.
Labor MP and chairman of the defense subcommittee Julian Hill told Tuesday’s hearing that the latest figures were “pretty scary”.
The Australian Defense Force is bleeding personnel, with recruitment campaigns that can’t keep up with the 6,600 or so members who leave each year (stock image)
They revealed an ADF divorce rate of 11.3 percent, which equates to 6,600 people leaving each year.
The Defense Force was also behind on its recruitment target and estimates it will rise to 73 percent.
The defense department was also short of 600 officers needed.
Major General Wade Stothart said Defense conducted exit surveys for personnel departures and found the reasons were “relatively consistent.”
Those reasons were mostly due to family circumstances, including the partner’s job, community ties, and education for children.
“We have been addressing those root causes with varying degrees of effectiveness over an extended period of time,” said Major General Stothart.
‘Those connections from the exit survey to the training and services, those connections could be more robust.’
Labor MP Julian Hill (pictured) described the trend as ‘pretty scary’ and announced a $50,000 cash bonus for members towards the end of their term of service to extend for another three years
In an effort to halt the number of personnel leaving the Defense Force, the federal government has pledged a $50,000 cash bonus to permanent members at the end of their initial mandatory term of service if they enroll in the military for an additional three years. connect army.
Major General Stothart said the Defense Force would find it more difficult to plan its workforce into shorter time cycles.
He said the ADF is considering the possibility of mid-career entry and how it can become more flexible in recruiting people.