By
SGT Jonathan Garland
SERVICE allowance has received a boost of nearly 20 per cent,
with the new annual figure rising to $8781 from July 3.
The new figure is a combination of the Defence Remuneration Tribunal’s
(DFRT) review and the new Workplace Remuneration Arrangement (WRA).
Director General Personnel Policy and Employment Conditions Sue
Parr said it was a good result that recognised the unique demands
that are part of the ADF.
“These are things like the liability of long working hours,
short notice postings and living and working in uncomfortable
conditions,” she said. “My staff, and the staff from
the three services who have spent months preparing this case and,
indeed, all members of the ADF can be very pleased with the outcome.”
The ADF had sought an increase to the allowance of 20 per cent
when the case was presented to the DFRT in April.
The DFRT called for further submissions and retired on May 28
to consider the matter, announcing its determination in Canberra
on July 3.
Instead of announcing a percentage increase, the DFRT specified
a dollar amount of $8525 for the allowance. The DFRT also ruled
the WRA increase of 3 per cent should be applied to service allowance,
creating a net effect of an increase of about 19.9 per cent, to
bring the fugure up to $8781 from the previous amount of $7321.
The DFRT ruled this increase would not affect officers of wing
commander and group captain rank equivalents, noting the Remuneration
Reform Project should address the salaries of these members in
due course.
A statement released by the DFRT said service allowance compensated
for the special demands of service life and that significant changes
that impact on service life in general should be encompassed by
the allowance. These include changes flowing from shifts in strategic
policy, force structure and the disposition of forces.
“We consider the changes established by the evidence to be
significant and that they justify an increase in service allowance,”
the Tribunal said.
