Index
About Postings
Once initial training has been completed, members will be posted to a ship, a base or some other Defence establishment where they will be employed as per their job classification. Generally, each posting will last for 2 to 4 years. However, a posting may be shorter or longer depending on Service requirements.
Defence posting policy reflects the need to fill current vacancies and to rotate Service men and women through operational, staff and training appointments to develop their skills and experience. Members are given the opportunity to express a preference of the localities to which they would like to be posted. While Defence will try to fulfil all posting preferences, members may be posted to any locality if there is a Service requirement.
These relocations are an inherent characteristic of the ADF lifestyle, as reflected in the policy DI(G) PERS 36-3, Inherent Requirements of Service in the ADF (Defweb only)
Location Information
For detailed information about a particular posting location, go to the Accessing DCO page, click on the State and then the area you are posting to. Copies of DCO 'Welcome to the Area' information booklets are provided to download. For further information contact the Family Liaison Officer (FLO) in the local DCO Area Office.
Member and Family Support
Defence offers a broad range of support services to assist members and their families effectively manage a mobile lifestyle. Follow the links below for a detailed description of the following services:
Counselling - for ADF members, their partners or family members who have a problem they wish to discuss with a professional.
Partner Employment Assistance - for ADF members with partners, a variety of initiatives are available to help partners secure employment in a new posting location.
Education Assistance - Defence offers a comprehensive support package to assist ADF members with dependants attending primary, secondary or tertiary educational institutions upon relocation to a new location.
Assistance for Dependants with Special Needs - Defence recognises that a mobile lifestyle can be challenging for families with a dependant who has special needs. A range of assistance is available, and the Defence Special Needs Support Group can also be a helpful resource.
Other services and assistance offered by DCO are also detailed throughout this website.
Moving with Children
Undertaking a relocation with children creates many additional considerations. Information to help with changing schools can be found on the Education Assistance page.
Publications
DCO has been involved in the production of a number of publications which provide valuable information on moving with children. These include:
Parenting at Home and Away
Written with the assistance of families and staff from the ADF, author Pam Linke provides helpful information and observes that:
"More and more in modern life, because of work or other commitments and due to the ease of travel, families are spending time apart from one another. In particular, families may experience situations where one parent is away for extended periods of time. In this book, Pam Linke, bestselling author of Home is where the family is: Moving house with children, discusses how parents can learn to cope with being away from their children and how they can feel comfortable integrating back into family life. Likewise it has many useful tips on how to help children understand and adapt to changing family environments."
Home is Where the Family Is: Moving house with young children
Also written with the assistance of families and staff from the ADF, author Pam Linke provides helpful information for parents on the subject of moving.
"Children often lack the skills needed to cope with major changes such as moving house. This is because they do not have the experience of previous changes to remember and build on. In this best selling book, Pam Linke discusses how parents and carers can make children's transitions to new homes and schools easier. It includes useful suggestions on how to make moving house an adventure, and is an essential guide for helping children manage change."
Home is Where the Family Is contains valuable chapters on
- Change and Children
- Change and parents
- Preparing Children for the Move
- On the Move
- Settling in
- Moving to a new School
- Moving to New Child Care
- If children have problems
- Parent at Home
- If you move often
- Final Tips.
This excellent guide for families on the move addresses all the main areas and subjects encountered in the posting / moving process and draws upon the experiences of many ADF families and DCO staff.
Travelling Teens:A parents' guide to family relocation
Provides expert advice on how to support teenagers during the process of moving, to make what is often a difficult situation into a positive experience.
Travelling Teens Z Card
A great resource for teenagers, with lots of tips to help make moving easier.
These publications can be obtained by contacting your local DCO Office.
Housing
On average, members of the ADF move more often than people in the general community. Housing assistance is therefore provided to support Defence capability. It makes sure members and their dependants have appropriate accommodation no matter where the member is posted.
The kind of housing depends on the number of dependants and family composition, so it is very important that correct family details are entered on all paperwork. For the purposes of Housing and the associated entitlements, members will be placed in one of three categories. These are:
- Members with Dependants - MWD
- Members with Dependants (Unaccompanied)- MWD(U)
- Members without Dependants - MWOD
The types of housing assistance available vary. Some members 'live in' (in mess accommodation), others live in housing owned by the Government, or in private rental accommodation. Various allowances are provided for these different circumstances.
Housing assistance is a form of subsidy and members will have to pay a contribution towards the cost of their accommodation. The rates of contribution are set so that members pay the same for a given level of accommodation wherever they are posted, and the Government meets the cost of any regional differences. If there are no suitable Service residences available in a region, ADF members are eligible for rent allowance. Rent allowance subsidises the cost of rental accommodation on the private market.
If a member owns their own home which is suitable to live in at the place where they are posted, they will usually not get housing assistance unless they are separated from the dependants for Service reasons. Defence also has a Home Purchase Assistance Scheme to help members buy a home in their posting location. Further specific information can be found in the Pay and Conditions Manual.
Temporary accommodation allowance may be paid for a period of time if members do not have access to permanent accommodation when posted to a new area.
The Relocation Process
Removals
ADF personnel are entitled to a full removal when they are posted out of a location. Defence removals are carried out by Toll Transitions and housing managed by Defence Housing Australia (DHA). Removal entitlements are detailed in the Pay and Conditions Manual (PACMAN) Chapter 6.
Removal Helpful Hints:
- Relocating as a Defence requirement, can be a very stressful time so you are encouraged to be prepared. Even though this might not be your first relocation experience, you need to read all the information you are provided with, in your relocation pack from Defence, DHA and Toll.
- Complete all the forms and return them to DHA as soon as possible or by the due date you are given.
- Keep a copy of the documents you submit and make sure that you keep detailed information to assist you in following up any issues you may have.
- No matter how professionally DHA and Toll Transitions organise your relocation it can be marred occasionally by your direct dealings with a removal contractor - if so, ring Toll immediately on 1800 819 167. If Toll cannot be contacted, contact your Defence Relocations and Housing Manager.
Defence Relocations and Housing Managers
The Defence Support Group has a dedicated Defence Relocations and Housing Manager based in each Regional Office. At the local level the Defence Relocations and Housing Manager is the primary Defence representative with Defence Housing Australia and Toll Transitions.
They are employed to assist you and to liaise with DHA, Toll Transitions and the Defence Community Organisation in each Region to make your relocation easier for you and your family. The Defence Relocations and Housing Managers have considerable experience in all aspects of relocations and housing. Some Regions have Assistant Defence Relocations and Housing Manager's who also have considerable experience in all aspects of relocations and housing.
The ultimate aim of the Defence Relocations and Housing Manager is to make sure that ADF members and their families experience high quality customer service as they move. The Defence Relocations and Housing Manager also makes sure that Defence receives the appropriate standard of relocation and housing services.
In summary the key services offered by the Defence Relocations and Housing Manager to members and the Defence community are:
- Providing Relocation and Housing advice to members and their families;
- Maintaining customer/provider relationships by meeting with DHA and Toll Transitions managers to sort out issues and identify trends;
- Resolution of difficulties about finding housing. maintenance, itinerary management and removals; and
- Providing advocacy on behalf of members and their families to resolve disputes with DHA or Toll Transitions.
For contact details of the local Defence Relocations and Housing Manager call the Defence Service Centre on 1800 020 031.
Defence Housing Australia
Defence Housing Australia (DHA) assists Defence members and their families when they are posted by helping with arrangements for their relocation and housing in their new locality. They provide assistance at each step of the posting process, such as:
- provision of housing
- allocation of housing
- maintenance responsibilities
- processing and authorising removal entitlements and allowances
- booking temporary accommodation
- coordingation of removals with Toll Transitions
For detailed information about housing allocations, removals and entitlements while being posted visit the DHA website or contact DHA via email at info@dha.gov.au or phone: 1800 249 711
Toll Transitions
Toll Transitions has been the complete relocation partner for Defence members and their families for over half a century. Toll Transitions works closely with the Department of Defence and Defence Housing Australia (DHA) to ensure that your move is conducted smoothly and professionally.
Toll Transitions manage the relocation of your household, personal effects and vehicles. This is done by quoting your move to a panel of over 150 service providers. All the providers are pre-qualified and work to Toll Transitions high standards of service delivery. Toll Transitions ensures that all aspects of the removal from the carton kit to a complete unpack is managed thoroughly.
To further assist Toll Transitions has developed the EASYMOVE KIT specifically for Defence members and their families. The kit contains helpful information and all the forms you will need to start your relocation. DHA will provide you with a hard copy of the kit when you are relocating and it is also available at the Toll Transitions DEFENCE WEBSITE.
The Toll Transitions DEFENCE WEBSITE also enables you to request a removal and input your inventory online. Your inventory will be securely stored and for all subsequent moves you can simply logon, using a secure password, to update your inventory as required. Also it has a 'track and trace' feature so that at any time you can check the progress of your removal.
The Toll Transitions website has undergone a series of changes due to input from Defence members to become a useful, user-friendly tool to input your removal in just four easy steps. Additionally, it allows you to monitor where your move is up to in the system or to lodge a Notice of Loss and Damage, if necessary, after your removal.
For 24 hour assistance all year round, you can contact Toll Transitions on Freecall 1800 819 167 for all relocation enquiries.
Electoral Enrolment
Whether you are posted in Australia or overseas, each time you move house you need to update your electoral enrolment to vote in federal and state/territory elections. For details, including enrolment forms, click here to link to the AEC website.
You can call your local AEC office on 13 23 26 for enrolment forms. Or you can pick them up at any Post Office , Medicare office, Centrelink office, Australian Taxation Office shopfront and from some Rural Transaction Centres
Further Information and Useful Links
The People Strategies and Policy Group Portal provides links to a wide range of information, services and resources.
More detailed policy advice and guidance on relocations and related entitlements can be found in the Pay and Conditions Manual (PACMAN) Chapter 6.
Or call the Defence Service Centre on 1800 020 031 for further information about housing entitlements and administrative processes.
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