Defence: Recruitment

Ms Burke asked the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 28 May 2002:

1. What was the number of (a) general and (b) officer recruits into the (i) Royal Australian Navy (RAN), (ii) Army and (iii) Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in (A) 1995, (B) 1996, (C) 1997, (D) 1998, (E) 1999, (F) 2000 and (G) 2001
2. What was the total outlay in real dollars of recruitment based advertising (a) in print, (b) on radio and (c) on television in (i) 1995, (ii) 1996, (iii) 1997, (iv) 1998, (v) 1999, (vi) 2000 and (vii) 2001.
3. What was the total outlay in real dollars of non advertising recruitment based activities for the (a) RAN, (b) Army and (c) RAAF in (i) 1995, (ii) 1996, (iii) 1997, (iv) 1998, (v) 1999, (vi) 2000 and (vii) 2001.
4. What strategies does the Minister or the Minister's Department have in place or under consideration to increase defence force recruitment in the future.

Mrs Vale - The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:

1. Data is reported by financial year (FY), not calendar year. Reliable data is not available prior to FY98/99. The numbers of general and officer recruits for FY1998/99 to FY2001/02 are shown below:
   1. General Enlistment (Full Time and Part Time)

      	1998-99	1999-00	2000-01	To date for 2001-02
      Navy	761	769	1172	1318
      Army	3084	3201	4581	3835
      Air Force	509	895	975	1106

   2. Officer Entry (Full Time and Part Time)

      	1998-99	1999-00	2000-01	To date for 2001-02
      Navy	132	106	116	220
      Army	651	554	600	534
      Air Force	224	217	253	304

2. Recruitment based advertising costs (defined as media placement costs) are not readily available for financial years prior to FY1999/2000. Recruitment based advertising outlay figures are expressed as actual dollars spent for each FY, not in real dollars. Available data ($M) is shown below:

   	1999-00	2000-01
   Print	4.871	8.268
   Radio	1.789	0.785
   Television	21.413	23.941

3. Defence Force Recruiting is conducted as a tri-service function and is not broken down into single service expenditure.
4. Defence will continue its advertising strategy, which is aimed at attracting recruits to the Australian Defence Force as well as regaining and maintaining the Australian Defence Force Brand Image. Defence will:
   • continue with process improvements to rationalise recruiting standards and introduce more flexible testing arrangements;
   • evaluate a new communication strategy for outcomes and value for money; and
   • continue to explore alternative recruiting options such as the current Manpower recruitment outsourcing trial in the Victorian and Southern Region and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations trial in Queensland.
   
   Defence is investigating:
   • a new information technology platform to address several candidate management deficiencies and provide access for candidates to complete electronic inquiries and applications; and
   • a delayed entry scheme to allow induction when the training pipeline is ready.
   
   Defence has also:
   • launched a new Army Reserve advertising campaign on 25 May 2002;
   • instigated a Graduate Recruitment Program to target university students for direct graduate and undergraduate officer entry, to fill all officer entry avenues, other than Australian Defence Force Academy; and
   • taken steps to improve the standard of the Career Reference Centres and is considering relocation of some centres to align resources with changing demographics.

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