Australian soldiers and staff will be offered a $50,000 (US$33,170) bonus payment as part of a wider effort to stem the ongoing loss of personnel in the country’s defence force.
Attrition or the rate of personnel leaving the Australian Defence Force (ADF), hovers at around 10 percent each year, which equates to 5,000-6,000 individuals.
The issue has become more pressing in recent years given the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region and the looming possibility of conflict.
The Albanese government says the initiative will cost around $400 million (US$265 million) and will be available to permanent ADF members after they have served a minimum of four years—their initial mandatory period of service.
Accepting the $50,000 also means the member agrees to extend their term in the military for another three years.
The government expects the Continuation Bonus to affect around 3,400 people in the first three years of the scheme. It will be implemented from next year.
The total ADF workforce numbers at around 85,000. The problem of retention is not just isolated to Australia, but also to the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
“When it comes to Defence our people are our greatest asset. We know Defence is facing greater challenges to recruit, retain and grow its workforce than it has for decades,” said Defence Minister Richard Marles in a statement on May 2.
“The Albanese government is steadfast in its commitment to achieving these goals, as outlined in our response to the Defence Strategic Review.”
Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thislewaite said there would be initiatives to alleviate housing stress for defence force members.
“The Albanese government is committed to improving support to ADF members and their families to enter the housing market through greater housing flexibility, less mortgage stress, and greater purchasing power,” he said.
The Situation is Desperate: Veteran
Veteran affairs advocate Heston Russell says the bonus reveals just how desperate the situation is for staff retention.“Most people in the defence force aren’t there for the money, they’re there for the purpose that provides them,” he told The Epoch Times. “When you’re starting to throw money at retention in the defence force, there’s clearly a deeper problem.”
“They’ve definitely done these retention bonuses before, but they were more aimed at people who had achieved certain ranks, and it definitely wasn’t after just four years [in the service].”
Russell said morale was one major issue within ADF ranks.
“On ANZAC Day, I had young soldiers come up to me and say they’re getting out because they literally don’t feel like the senior hierarchy have their back after seeing what I’ve been going through [with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation] and what’s happened the last few years with the war crime reporting case,” he added.
Unique Ideas Being Put Forward to Stem Personnel Issues
Meanwhile, Australian MPs have earmarked potentially adopting the “foreign legion” concept and tying military recruitment to visa pathways.“New Australians, prepared to serve and sacrifice in uniform, are the right sort of people to whom we can offer a home,” he said. Countries like France famously operate a foreign legion that allows recruits a pathway to citizenship.
Russell welcomed the prospect of streamlining what is known as “lateral transfer” from countries like the United States and the UK.
“There are so many people who would love to come to Australia, but the process is ridiculous and just filled with so much red tape,” he said.
“It’s a very interesting and great idea. It’s kind of like Starship Troopers: service equals citizenship. You have a lot of people in the Asia-Pacific region who come from places where they have to work really hard for the things that we take for granted here.”
