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Bonuses worth $27m |
| MORE than 2500 personnel have contributed to the strengthening of the Army by accepting almost $28 million in Army Expansion Rank Retention (AERR) and Critical Employment Category Retention (CECR) bonuses. The bonuses were first offered on March 16 to more than 5000 personnel identified as being potentially eligible, either because of their rank or trade. Currently, 2376 personnel have chosen to accept the Army Expansion Rank Retention bonus and 158 have accepted the Critical Employment Category Retention Bonus. Col Ash Gunder, Director of Military Personnel Administration-Army (DMPA-A), said his department was hopeful that the scheme would attract a strong take up. “We had no historical precedence with these two schemes. We were dependent on the attractiveness of the scheme, and the current rate for take up for those who have made a decision is very encouraging,” he said. “Of those who have made their decision, more than 75 per cent have accepted one of the bonuses.” CA Lt-Gen Peter Leahy said he was more than happy with the response from members who had decided to accept a bonus offer. “I am thrilled that there are people out there who made that decision,” Lt-Gen Leahy said. “It was the reaction that I was hoping for; we had done our sums and thought we would get a very good response. This will make the Army bigger and better.” The AERR bonus will only be offered once this year and once next year. The CECR bonus may have further years to run, depending on what trades have a critical status. Col Gunder said all offers this year for the AERR bonus had been made and he would like to remind members who have not received an offer, but think they may be eligible for the bonus, to contact DMPA-A through their chain of command. “Everyone who is eligible now should have their offer and should be thinking about whether or not they will accept,” he said. “My advice to them is to get their acceptances in as soon as possible, as there will be an unavoidable processing delay because of the end of financial year. “I would advise them to think carefully about the benefits and requirements of the offer, seek independent financial advice, speak with their CO and any work colleagues who have already accepted the bonuses. “Once having made their decision they need to get their acceptance in straight away, so they can receive quick payment before the end of the financial year. “The message from me is, accept your bonus, it rewards your commitment to be part of the team to grow Army.” Another factor assisting the expansion of the Army is recruiting. This financial year, Defence Force Recruiting and Army are trying to fill 2380 full-time positions and 2252 part-time positions across 53 different trades. As at April 30, ARA recruiting figures were 95 per cent and for the Reserves they were 92 per cent against the proportion of recruiting targets. Lt-Gen Leahy said he was very pleased with the recruiting figures. “We are getting close to achieving the global recruiting target figures, but there are some inconsistent figures with some trades,” he said. “With these trades we will try to fill in the gaps, but also we have these other strategies of retraining people.” For further information on the bonuses contact your unit orderly room staff or visit http://intranet.defence.gov.au/armyweb/sites/STAYARMY/comweb.asp?page=Home Related Story |