The Albanese Government is rebuilding the Australian Defence Force (ADF) - driving the highest recruitment in 15 years, slashing separation rates, and keeping the force strong at over 61,000 full-time personnel.
Over the last three years, the Albanese Government has focussed on introducing bold and targeted initiatives to address the declining recruitment and retention rates inherited from the former Coalition government, and set Defence up for long-term growth.
These efforts are delivering results and for the first time in years, the ADF is growing.
In 2024-25, the ADF enlisted 7,059 permanent full-time personnel - the highest annual intake since 2009-10 and 17% increase on the previous year.
As at 1 July 2025, the permanent and full-time ADF workforce reached 61,189 people - higher than the targeted growth path for 2024-25.
More than 75,000 applications to join the ADF were received in 2024-25 - the highest number in five years and 28% year-on-year increase, compared to the same time last year.
Importantly, retention has also improved. The ADF-wide separation rate fell to 7.9% - well below the ten-year average and a dramatic turnaround from three-years ago.
The ADF is now well on track to meet the Albanese Government's target of 69,000 permanent Average Funded Strength by the early 2030s - a key outcome of the 2024 National Defence Strategy and the 2024 Defence Workforce Plan, which provides a credible and budgeted pathway to grow the Defence workforce.
While there is more work to be done, these results highlight significant progress in attracting and retaining the skilled workforce required to build the future Defence Force.
Quotes attributable to Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles:
"It is essential that Australia has the Defence Force it needs to help protect its strategic interests, and that is why we have made significant investments to support our current Defence workforce and grow it for the future.
"When the Albanese Government came to office we inherited a personnel crisis. Throughout the near-decade the Coalition was in office, the ADF grew by just 2,000 people.
"In 2025, the ADF is now growing again for the first time in almost four years. While there is much more work to do, we are confident these positive trends will continue.
"The Defence Workforce Plan centres our efforts to recruit and retain the highly specialised and skilled workforce required to meet capability needs."
Quotes attributable to Minister for Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh:
"Thanks to our recruitment and retention initiatives the Australian Defence Force is seeing increased applications, enlistments and more people staying in service than we have in years.
"It's fantastic to see more and more Australians signing up for an exciting and fulfilling career in the ADF.
"These efforts are complemented by our ongoing efforts to retain our personnel in service for longer, with improvements to how Defence personnel and their families are supported at work and at home.
"A stabilised and strengthened workforce is the foundation that we need to continue to grow, to reskill and transform to have the future workforce required to deliver against the 2024 National Defence Strategy."
