Australian Defence Force to get $1 billion in federal budget to find more recruits

The Australian Defence Force will get $1 billion in the federal Budget to attract young recruits amid China’s threatening regional stability. This is how it will work.

Exclusive: The Australian Defence Force will dramatically upscale its push for new recruits with a return to grassroots campaigns through schools, universities and across social media under a $1.17 billion budget allocation for recruitment.

Just weeks out from the federal election the Morrison government announced an ambitious plan to grow the ADF to its highest level since the Vietnam War, up 20 per cent to 80,000 personnel by 2039.

The Labor Government moved swiftly to commit to the target and will this week announce Defence will turn to one of the world’s largest human resources provider, Adecco Australia with offices across the country, and a subsidiary of the Switzerland based group.

The contract will begin from the next financial year, July 2023.

The Technical Trade Immersion Day at HMAS Stirling welcomed candidates considering the Australian Defence Force as a career. Picture: Defence

Under the allocation, included in Tuesday’s budget, the contract is worth $1.17 billion across six years with the cost drawn from the existing Defence budget, expected to be adjusted up to cover inflation and the plunging value of the Australian dollar for planned acquisitions.

Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh told News Corp Australia the nation’s strategic outlook had changed for the worse and the recruitment and retention of personnel “has never been more important”.

Defence Personnel and Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh met with Perth-based Defence Force Recruitment staff this weekend. Picture: Supplied

That outlook has been exacerbated not only by the coercive and aggressive expansionist ambitions of China in the region but global insecurity generated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

With unemployment levels at their lowest Mr Keogh said it was an even greater challenge for recruitment but Adecco would creatively “step up” the program.

“People are looking for jobs with purpose, we need to take action to ensure students, their teachers and parents have a solid understanding of the excellent opportunities that a career in the ADF can provide. We also are very keen to engage with older Australians who want to contribute to the defence of our nation,” he said.

“Our new partnership with Adecco will focus on redefining how we can modernise recruitment efforts in a hyper competitive labour market.”

Matt Keogh MP Minister Defence Personnel embarks HMAS Rankin to meet the RAN crew of a sovereign training program to produce its next generation of submarine commanders at the inaugural Australian Submarine Command Course.

For the past 20 years the Manpower Group held the outsourced recruitment duty.

Adecco’s managing director Kevin Alexander said he was proud the group had been tasked with recruiting such an important workforce.

“Understanding how fundamental the right ADF workforce is to our national security, Adecco has developed a solution that is candidate centric, data driven and focused on efficiencies that will modernise the Defence recruiting system,” he said.

The ADF has failed to meet recruitment targets every year since the 2016 ADF White Paper review on national security and capability. Another strategic review currently being conducted by former ADF chief Sir Angus Houston and former defence minister Stephen Smith to be released next March is also looking at the Defence rank strength required in future.

Originally published as Australian Defence Force to get $1 billion in federal budget to find more recruits