Australian Defence Force Recruiting Non-Citizens to Address Personnel Shortages

The Labor government has approved non-citizens to join the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to address recruitment shortages.

On June 4, the government announced an expansion plan to recruit more defense personnel as part of the national defense strategy introduced in April.

Specifically, eligible New Zealanders can apply to join the Australian military starting from July 2024.

This policy will also apply to permanent residents from the Five Eyes nations (including Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the United States) and other countries starting from January 2025.

According to Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh, individuals seeking to join the ADF must have resided in Australia for at least one year before applying and have not served in a foreign defense force within the past two years.

Additionally, they must meet all security, vetting, and character requirements for ADF enlistment.

Recruitment Shortages

Defense Minister Richard Marles stated that while there are currently 58,000 full-time personnel in the ADF, the funding for the defense force in the 2024-25 financial year was intended to support 63,500 staff.

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The defense minister mentioned that the ADF is facing difficulties in recruiting new staff due to low overall unemployment rates and better opportunities in the private sector.

“Part of what we’ve done over the last couple of years is to improve the defense offering,” he said.

New ADF Recruits Eligible for Citizenship

As part of the new changes, after non-citizens have served in the ADF for 90 days, they will be eligible to obtain Australian citizenship.

“There’d be an obligation to become an Australian citizen within 90 days,” he said.

“For some people, that might enable you to get to your citizenship quicker, and that might be an attraction to join.”

However, Mr. Marles noted that there was a heavy emphasis on the security process that non-citizens needed to undergo before joining the ADF.

Meanwhile, Mr. Keogh stated that the changes in military recruitment would not lead to an exodus from other countries.

“These are people that have already made Australia home and we are providing them a fast track to citizenship through joining the Australian Defence Force as well.”

Mr. Keogh mentioned that the recruitment campaign would increase the defense force by approximately 350 people per year.

This is on top of the additional 2,000 individuals per year as part of the ADF’s efforts to modernize its physical health and other fitness requirements to attract more recruits.

While the opposition has not opposed the recruitment plan, Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham stated that it was a result of Labor’s failing defense policy.

“The government’s defense policy has been mired in reviews and delays and things that don’t build the confidence to get people to join in the first place,” he told Sky News.

“We want to see, ideally, Australians wearing the Australian uniform.”