Defence enjoys surge in recruits

RECRUITMENT applications to Australia’s military have had a significant spike since COVID-19 hit the country.

Australian Defence Force data revealed recruitment was up 38 per cent from April to June compared with the same period last year.

This equated to 24,739 applications compared with 17,859 applications a year ago.

Of those 24,739 applications, Defence has welcomed 1933 members into the navy, army and air force.

The states that experienced the greatest increase in recruitment applications during this time were Victoria (up 63 per cent), South Australia (up 54 per cent), the ACT (up 43 per cent) and NSW (up 40 per cent). Queensland had a 30 per cent spike.

Between April and June of this year, 6859 Queenslanders applied to the ADF.

ADF recruitment department director Lieutenant Colonel James Matchett said Queensland women accounted for 2919 of those applications, a significant surge for the demographic.

“Defence has introduced a number of initiatives to increase female participation in the ADF,” Lt Col Matchett said.

“There has been a real conscious effort to move towards a mindset that any recruit can do any job within the ranks.”

Women make up 23.1 per cent of the permanent ADF workforce.

Expanded marketing along with women being disproportionately hit by economic hardship during the pandemic were potential factors in the surge of female recruits, Lt Col Matchett said.

According to Workplace Gender Equality Agency data, the top three female-dominated occupations in Australia are administrative workers, community/personal service workers and sales associates – some of the first to go when coronavirus restrictions were rolled out.