The 2023 Defence Strategic Review recommended a comprehensive strategic review of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Reserves and reserve service.
The Strategic Review of the ADF Reserves (Reserve Review) was conducted between December 2023 and April 2024. The Review Team undertook a process of historical review, contemporary scoping, analysis, design and refinement.
The Reserve Review was published on 18 December 2024 and identifies recommendations to improve integration of reservists into the total workforce.
The central goal of the 2024 Defence Workforce Plan is to support the Australian Defence Force’s transition from a balanced force to an integrated, focused force in order to meet the demands of Australia’s strategic circumstances.
Adapting the structure, shape and role of the reserves will ensure the reserve workforce complements the total Defence workforce, recognising the critical enabling role reservists have in delivering operational capability, depth and critical skills to Defence.
The implementation of each of the recommendations will be phased in from February 2025.