Indigenous Affairs: Pre-Recruitment Courses

Mr Baldwin asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, in writing, on 9 February 2010:

In respect of the indigenous pre-recruitment courses:

1. Of the 22 young locals who enrolled in the August 2008 pilot in Townsville, how many:
   1. graduated;
   2. went on to enlist in the military;
   3. were accepted into the military; and
   4. completed basic and Corps specific training and were then posted to their Unit.
2. Since the August 2008 pilot in Townsville:
   1. how many courses have been held and in what locations,
   2. what total number of students has graduated, and
   3. how many graduates
      1. went on to enlist in the military,
      2. were accepted into the military, and
      3. completed basic and Corps specific training and were then posted to their Units.

Mr Combet - The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable member’s question:

1.  
   1. 15.
   2. & c. 10 passed the Defence Force Recruiting aptitude test and 5 enlisted in the military.
   4. 3.
2.  
   1. Since the pilot in Townsville three further courses have been held, one in Newcastle and two in Southwest Sydney.
   2. 75.
   3.  
      1. and ii. 62 passed the Defence Force Recruiting aptitude test and 10 went on to enlist in the military.
      3. 2.

In summary, there have been 90 course graduates across the four courses, of which 72 or 80 per cent have successfully completed the Defence Force Recruiting (DFR) aptitude testing. This compares with DFR general statistics of 29 per cent of applicants passing the aptitude testing.

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