Bold move to boost defence numbers
Australian Defence personnel are set to get new cash incentives to join up and stay on longer in a bid to boost numbers.
The Albanese government on Tuesday unveiled its $600 million plan to grow the defence personnel, including $40,000 bonuses for service people nearing the ends of their contracts to stay on for an extra three years.
With Australia rapidly expanding its attack and defensive capabilities across the Army, Navy and Air Force, Defence Minister Richard Marles said it was “really important that we are able to grow our Defence Force.”
“When we look at what we’ve already done with the pilot program, it is more thousands of people who are continuing, who might not otherwise have done that,” Mr Marles told reporters in Canberra.
“So having a continuation bonus beyond the initial service obligation really does make a difference in terms of encouraging people to stay.
“What we need to be doing here is extending the average term of service. Right now it’s about seven years. Our plan is to try and extend that through to 12.”
The two-year pilot program, launched in 2023, offered $50,000 incentives and boosted uptake by 80 per cent, according
While the newly unveiled plan would drop that by $10,000, eligibility would be extended.
The plan also aims to boost reservists by at least 1000 by 2030.
