The Federal Government is set to invest more than $600 million to expand the Continuation Bonus for permanent members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and increase the ADF’s Operational Reserves by an additional 1,000 personnel.
Today’s announcement coincides with the release of the 2024 Defence Workforce Plan, which examines planning and development. This includes the growth and future needs of the integrated workforce as outlined in the National Defence Strategy (NDS) and Integrated Investment Program (IIP).
The 2024 Defence Workforce Plan addresses ADF recruitment and retention, as well as Defence’s organisational culture, wellbeing and support to ADF members and their families.
The Workforce Plan also complements ongoing work to uplift the nation’s defence industry workforce including through implementation of the Defence Industry Development Strategy.
“Australia’s defence industry is an essential partner in keeping Australians safe in an increasingly challenging strategic environment,” said Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery, the Hon Pat Conroy MP.
“The Defence Workforce Plan builds on the Defence Industry Development Strategy which is delivering the necessary reforms to uplift the capability of the Australian defence industry workforce.”
As part of the 2024 Defence Workforce Plan, the Government has committed to:
- Extending the Continuation Bonus for eligible, permanent members at the end of their initial service obligation, who have served a minimum of four years.
- Expanding the Continuation Bonus for a second cohort of eligible, permanent members after a minimum of seven years of service, to encourage continuation of service and career progression to middle ranks in the Defence Force.
- Increasing the Operational Reserves by an additional 1,000 personnel by 2030.
- Continuing to improve wellbeing and mental health support as well as organisational culture.
Defence’s ability to implement the Workforce Plan is underpinned by the Federal Government’s additional investment of $5.7 billion over the forward estimates and $50.3 billion over the decade to grow the ADF and deliver a more self-reliant Defence Force.
Implementation of the Workforce Plan will deliver growth in our permanent ADF workforce, strengthen the ADF Reserve and will allow the APS workforce to continue to rebalance, including through reduced reliance on the external workforce.
The 2024 Defence Workforce Plan is available here.
