Australia to offer incentives for defense staff

Australia will spend A$600 million ($395 million) to recruit defense reserves and extend cash bonuses to retain troops as Albana’s centre-left government seeks to overcome a labor shortage, officials are expected to announce on Tuesday.

A review of Australia’s defense force last year found severe pressure on the workforce was a priority issue, even as the government increases its defense budget to a record A$51.5 billion a year, modernizing its northern military bases and gaining the ability to strike over long distances.

A competitive national labor market and record low unemployment are putting pressure on the defense department’s ability to recruit, according to excerpts seen by Reuters of the defense industry’s workforce plan, which is expected to be released on Tuesday.

The bonus scheme introduced last year will be extended until 2028 and extended to the mid-ranks, offering A$40,000 to defense force members who stay to “address the void in the force”, the plan says.

The plan states that the Department of Defense aims to achieve a permanent defense workforce of 69,000 by the early 2030s, with a total combined defense and civilian workforce of about 100,000 by 2040.

In June, there were about 57,000 permanent defense employees who lacked funded positions.

“Our ADF personnel are our greatest asset, so it is critical that the Department of Defense has the people needed to protect Australia’s strategic interests,” Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement.

Australia is spending up to A$368 billion to acquire nuclear submarines under the Aucus partnership with the United States and Britain, and has also committed A$74 billion to missile systems as it responds to rising tensions with China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Australia on Monday canceled a multibillion-dollar military satellite project with Lockheed Martin, saying it would instead shift its focus to a multi-orbital system to improve the resilience of Australia’s defense forces. (Reuters)