Incentive payment announced to retain ADF personnel

Personnel will have to have served a minimum of four years and be at the end of their initial mandatory period of service.

“Initiatives to improve the growth and retention of a highly skilled Defence workforce” was identified as one of the six priority areas for immediate action when the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) was unveiled by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy on Monday, 24 April.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said the federal government is committed to meeting areas of concern outlined in the Defence Strategic Review.

“When it comes to Defence, our people are our greatest asset. We know Defence is facing greater challenges to recruit, retain, and grow its workforce than it has for decades,” he said.

“There is a lot of work to be done, but these investments will be an important step towards ensuring we have the highly skilled Defence Force needed to keep Australians safe.”

The incentive is expected to benefit around 3,400 ADF staff in the first three years of the scheme. It will be reviewed after two years to assess retention rates.

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The government has invested approximately $400 million to establish the bonus and an additional $2 million this financial year to review Defence Housing.

Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite said current Defence home ownership benefits are struggling to keep pace with the Australian property market.

“Access to safe, suitable, and affordable housing is fundamental to family wellbeing,” he said.

“The Albanese government is committed to improving support to ADF members and their families to enter the housing market through greater housing flexibility, less mortgage stress, and greater purchasing power. This will help make Defence a workplace of choice for Australians.

“We need to ensure that ADF housing solutions prepare members for transition to civilian life, with home ownership a critical aspect of support.”

Several priority areas have been identified as impacting ADF members, these include contemporary and future housing needs, defence residences, and rental assistance policy review, review of current home ownership support benefits and policies, and home ownership for ADF members.

A $46.2 million expansion of the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme was previously announced in the October 2022 budget.

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.