Bonuses To Stay In The Navy

15 April 2008

THE Australian Defence Force is paying submariners a bonus of up to $60,000 to stay in the navy as it struggles to retain staff and lure recruits.

About 250 submariners and chief petty officers are eligible for a navy capability allowance of $60,000 for an extra 18 months' service. More than 6000 general service sailors are eligible for a $24,000 bonus for staying beyond the minimum term of three years.

"The retention of all ADF serving personnel is a priority of the Government," the Defence Science and Personnel Minister, Warren Snowdon, said yesterday. "The allowance forms part of a larger range of recruiting and retention initiatives being pursued by the Government to address workforce shortfalls within the Australian Defence Force."

Sailors, electricians and engineers were leaving the navy to spend more time with their families and get better pay in areas such as mining, Mr Snowdon's spokeswoman said.

"They leave for a number of reasons. For some of them it's to do with family and lifestyle issues," she said. "It's not just our electricians and engineers. A lot of our highly specialised seamen are being headhunted. We are losing them to the mining industry."

With trained sailors leaving at an annual rate of 13.4 per cent, the navy has looked to an internet advertising campaign to attract new blood.

Plugging "navy values, culture, lifestyle and officer attributes", the ads went online yesterday and feature five episodes shot at scenic beach and sea locations, including the navy's training college at Jervis Bay.

"We want people to see what a highly desirable career choice being an officer is," Mr Snowdon said.

A defence spokeswoman could not say if the army and air force would also offer cash bonuses to retain staff.

Earlier this year, the army began a two-year advertising campaign pitched at Generation Y. With an annual budget of $50 million, the army used podcasts, social networking such as YouTube and cinema ads to snag recruits aged 16 to 27.

The air force has also renewed its recruiting campaign focussing on the diversity of work available as it faces a shortage of skilled technicians.

Defence jobs were also being sold as an alternative to a "gap year" between finishing high school and starting university.


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