Australian Defence Force job application forms request pronouns and sexuality

Australians wanting to serve their nation in the army, navy or air force have to navigate a few unexpected questions about their sexuality and pronouns, with one senator labelling the quiz “woke garbage”.

Aspiring soldiers, sailors and fighter pilots are being asked on official job forms what their “pronouns” are, whether they are “non-binary”, “gender-diverse”, “questioning” or if their gender is X – of “indeterminate” sex.

The very first question on the Australian Government’s official Department of Defence APS careers website for potential recruits asks:

“Which pronouns do you use: he/him, she/her, they/them”, with applicants given the option to “not disclose”.

Potential defence force personnel are also quizzed about their sexuality.

“Do you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning (LGBTIQ+)?” the recruits are asked.

Potential soldiers, sailors and air force crew for the Australian Defence Force are now asked to nominate their pronouns when applying for jobs. Picture: Supplied

Potential soldiers, sailors and air force crew for the Australian Defence Force are now asked whether they are non-binary, gender diverse or of indeterminate or intersex. Picture: Supplied

An ADF spokesman said: “Defence capability is reliant on our ability to attract and retain the best possible talent regardless of background, gender, age, culture, religion, ability or sexual orientation. Diversity and inclusion are critical to the successful delivery of Defence’s mission. It is important that the Defence workforce reflects the communities that we serve.”

United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet said the questions amounted to “woke garbage” and Australia’s enemies would be laughing at us.

“There are only two genders, male and female,” he said.

Australian Army soldier – during the recruitment process they can now request “reasonable adjustments” to get their documents provided in a large text or on different background colours.

“There are only two pronouns, he and she. Anything else is a delusion and society must stop enabling lies to permeate as the truth.

“Whoever is coming up with this woke garbage for the Department of Defence should be fired immediately.”

“Our defence force allows men to wear dresses, I can just imagine our enemies laughing at us, it’s really quite sad.”

Senator Babet said the Australian military now had gender neutral ration packs, as well as a project to eliminate gender specific language by renaming Unmanned Aircraft Systems to Uncrewed Aircraft Systems and replacing man hours with staff hours.

Senator Ralph Babet says there are only two genders and it is a lie to pretend otherwise. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“It has been reported that the Australian military has enough ammunition to fight a war for just one week and we don’t have anywhere near enough soldiers,” he said.

“We have a fighting force of approximately 57,000 and we need a minimum of 80,000. The military should be focused on that instead of wokeness.”

The job forms also tell applicants they are entitled to “reasonable adjustments” during the selection process, which might include documents being given to them in a large text or with different background colour.

Other adjustments also include additional reading times or the “provision of a safe environment or equipment to conduct assessments”. 

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Originally published as Australian Defence Force job application forms request pronouns and sexuality