Defence Strategic Review depends on Albanese government recruiting thousands more Australians amid staff crunch

A sweeping review into the nation’s strategic capabilities has warned the ADF must change its recruitment and workforce processes amid severe staffing shortages.

Next generation on the front line: from left, army cadet Nicholas Luhrs, navy midshipman Lily Joesika and air force officer cadet Ricardo Kelly at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra on Monday. Picture: Gary Ramage

A sweeping review into the nation’s strategic capabilities has warned the Australian Defence Force must change its recruitment and workforce processes amid severe staffing shortages that are threatening the ADF’s capability.

The Albanese government’s Defence Strategic Review warns the ADF faces an “acute” workforce challenge that requires urgent innovative action to expand the pool of eligible applicants.

The review singles out the workforce as one of its six top priorities which must be addressed in order to deal with increased strategic tensions and rising risk of military escalation in the region.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government would need to recruit thousands more people for the defence forces, and acknowledged a staff crunch was affecting the department, services and defence industry.

Mr Marles said defence numbers had fallen since the former Morrison government pledged $38bn to increase the ADF by more than 18,000 people by 2040.

“In terms of workforce, it is one of the real challenges that we face in terms of our uniformed workforce and also those in the department, but also those within the defence industry,” Mr Marles said.

“The current glide path that the former government articulated was over the next two decades, but it is right that we have a challenge right now in terms of maintaining the levels in the defence force that we’ve got right now, because since the former government announced the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, we’ve actually seen the defence force go backwards, and that’s not acceptable.”

The Defence Strategic Review reveals the navy faces the most significant workforce challenges of the three services, and that transitioning new technologies into service is its biggest challenge.

Despite persistent workforce shortages constraining defence force capabilities, new recruits at the ADF Academy in Canberra are excited about the opportunities they have to defend their nation during a period of intensified strategic competition.

Lily Joesika, 20, is studying to become a finance and logistics officer in the navy, after she transferred from university to under­take a gap year in the defence force, which is designed to give younger Australians a taste of a possible ­ADF career path.

“I found that when I was at uni, it was kind of just like everyone was there to tick the box and do the minimum of what was required – but I found in defence it’s much bigger,” she said.

“Everyone at defence is looking to achieve big things. You’re surrounded by lifelines and people have goals and expectations and want to achieve things that are more than just doing what’s necessary.”

Ricardo Kelly, 21, is studying to become an intelligence officer in the air force and is most interested in space, which he recognises is an area that’s growing rapidly and provides him with strong career opportunities.

“I think its really important to ensure things we have up in the sky are safe, and that goes hand-in-hand with intelligence, so I am excited to possibly be able to work in that area after I graduate and see what technical skills and technologies are being used,” he said.

Nicholas Luhrs, 20, will next year transfer to Australia’s Royal Military College of Duntroon in Canberra to further his training to become an army officer, and said he was looking forward to taking on more responsibility and leadership roles as his career progressed.

“The environment that the ADF sits within is becoming increasingly more complex and it provides a more diverse set of opportunities and challenges, and I’m looking forward to how that environment challenges me in the future,” Mr Luhrs said.