Australia ramps up recruitment efforts for armed forces

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Eligible applicants from the U.K., U.S. and Canada will be able to apply to join the Australian Defence Force beginning in January 2025.

The ADF announced the change Tuesday, as part of its efforts to bolster recruitment. Beginning next month, New Zealanders who are living in Australia can also apply to join the organization.

The three branches of the ADF are the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force.

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Together, the five countries make up the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network.

Applicants will need to meet entry standards and security requirements, and permanent residents wishing to join the ADF must have lived in the country for at least one year immediately before applying.

New recruits must not have served in a foreign military in the preceding two years, and be able to attain Australian citizenship, which they will become eligible for after serving at least 90 days in the ADF.

“We’re being bold in order to grow the Australian Defence Force,” said defence personnel minister Matt Keogh in a statement.

“Recruiting from a wider pool of people will help ensure our Australian Defence Force reflects the full diversity of Australia and is able to draw on the talents of the entirety of Australian society.”

Defence minister Richard Marles added that the Australian government is choosing to grow the ADF “to meet the nation’s security challenges through the next decade and beyond.”

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As part of the changes, the ADF will also streamline the Overseas Lateral Recruitment Scheme, which allows the organization to fill capability shortfalls by recruiting skilled military overseas applicants.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the ADF will first look to recruit around 350 people a year through the international route with a goal of bolstering the number of permanent ADF members to 80,000 by 2040, up from roughly 57,000 members last year.

Marles added that recruitment from other countries in the Pacific could also be a possibility in the future.

“We are, in walking down this path, doing so in a careful, slow and calibrated way,” he told ABC.

“From the 1st of July, with those conditions in place … if you are from New Zealand you’ll be able to join the defence force. From the 1st of January, that will be extended to other ‘Five Eyes’ countries. In the future, we are having an eye to the Pacific. That is what we are doing.”

Canada lifted its ban on permanent residents enlisting in the military in December 2022, citing a goal to bring in at least 5,900 new members through Canadian Armed Forces recruiting centres by March 2023.

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“Enrolment of permanent residents will help us grow our military with qualified, well-trained people who choose a career in uniform,” said Anita Anand, who was the minister of national defence at the time. “We will continue to work hard every day to build a military that attracts and retains people from all parts of our society who want to serve Canada.”

The announcement also noted that the process to obtain security clearances could be lengthy for some permanent residents but the government was looking to “improve the application process.”

Since that announcement, however, Canada’s military shortfall has continued. According to the Department of National Defence (DND) there were 20,000 applications from permanent residents in 2023–24, but media reports suggest fewer than 100 were accepted.

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