Australian Defence Force Posture Review
A declassified version of the Australian Defence Force Posture Review’s final report was released by the Minister for Defence Stephen Smith on 3 May 2012.
Background
On 22 June 2011 Minister for Defence Stephen Smith announced a Force Posture Review to assess whether the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is correctly geographically positioned to meet Australia’s current and future strategic challenges.
The Department of Defence undertook the Review with oversight by an expert panel made up of two renowned Australian national security specialists: Dr Allan Hawke and Mr Ric Smith.
Final Report
The Review’s final report was submitted to the Government on 30 March 2012.
The findings of the Review will inform development of the 2014 Defence White Paper. While the Review outlines a range of options for Government consideration, no decisions will be made on these options until they have been considered as part of the White Paper development process.
Scope of the Review
The Review builds on the strategic and capability judgements contained in the 2009 Defence White Paper 2009. It considers the force posture implications of the range of present and emerging global, regional and national strategic and security factors which require careful consideration for the future, including:
- the rise of the Asia-Pacific as a region of global strategic significance;
- the rise of the Indian Ocean rim as a region of global strategic significance;
- the growth of military power projection capabilities of countries in the Asia Pacific;
- the growing need for the provision of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief following extreme events in the Asia Pacific region; and
- energy security and security issues associated with expanding offshore resource exploitation in our North West and Northern approaches.
The Review was informed by Defence’s assessment of basing requirements and the possible resulting changes to Defence’s estate over the next 25 years. It applied the strategic basing principles set out in chapter 15 of the 2009 Defence White Paper.
While the Review focused on ADF requirements, its findings complement the work underway with the United States on its Global Force Posture Review initiatives involving Australia.
Public submissions
Public submissions to the Review can be accessed here
Contact details
| Email Address | ADF.PostureReview@defence.gov.au |
| Postal Address | Australian Defence Force Posture Review Implementation |
Related links
Maps and Information
The publications listed below have been produced in PDF format and require Acrobat Reader for viewing. If you do not have Acrobat Reader you can download it from the Adobe web site.