Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel face losing some of their leave entitlements as part of a deal that includes below-inflation pay rises.

The decision, conveyed in an email to personnel on Friday, has been branded “outrageous” at a time when ADF members are risking their lives in combat operations in Iraq.

Labor and the Greens called on the government to rethink the wage offer, raising concerns that ADF personnel would be “shortchanged”.

The chief of the ADF, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, said the position to be taken to the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal next week involved an annual salary increase of 1.5% during the three-year deal. The most recent official figures show inflation is running at 3%.

Binskin told ADF members it was “a fair and reasonable pay rise in the context of the government’s financial position and the clear need for wage restraint”.

“As you will be aware we are in an economic and budgetary climate where government has indicated the need for managed reduction in costs, of which pay is a part, across the federal public sector,” he wrote in his email.

Binskin said the ADF provided “a unique service to the nation” but it “must operate within the government’s wage framework when considering any remuneration package”.

He also signalled some changes to leave arrangements.

“One of the things we will offer up is one of the CDF [chief of the defence force] approved leave days over the Christmas period,” he said. “Another is the removal of extra recreation leave (ERL) provisions.

“I know that leave is important to all ADF members and I have not taken this decision lightly. However, I believe that with the other leave provisions that are available (including short leave from duty) and the inequitable way that ERL has been applied across the ADF workforce in the past, these offsets are reasonable.”

Professionals Australia, which represents engineers and scientists in civilian defence roles, described the offer to uniformed personnel as “outrageous”.

David Smith, the Australian Capital Territory director of Professionals Australia, said the decision came just days after the government formally committed to military action in Iraq.

“At the same time as we’re looking at deploying more people overseas we expect their families to have to make ends meet with a below-inflation pay increase and expect they’ll have less of an opportunity to stay at home by cutting leave entitlements,” Smith said.

“It’s outrageous. Defence employees, whether they’re civilian or in uniform, go above and beyond. To attack their leave entitlements particularly when they’re more likely to be deployed or are being deployed is outrageous.

“This is an example of how ideological the government is about working conditions for all public sector workers.”

Smith said ADF members had “limited representation” and did not “get a real say in this outcome”.

The opposition called on the government to reconsider its wage offer, saying Labor was “very concerned that our ADF personnel are being shortchanged”.

Labor’s acting defence spokesman, David Feeney, and the shadow parliamentary secretary for defence, Gai Brodtmann, said the 1.5% annual offer would result in a pay cut in real terms because it was well below inflation.

“Australia asks our ADF personnel to defend our country and protect our national security [and] the very least the government can do is pay them properly and give them proper leave,” they said in a joint statement.

“Why on Earth is our defence force being asked to give up their Christmas leave and accept a pay deal that will see their wages fall over the next 12 months?”

The Greens leader, Christine Milne, said Australians would find the decision to be “shocking and appalling”.

“I’ve always had a view that governments of all persuasions are prepared to commit Australian troops to war but they’ve never been prepared to commit the level of resources that are necessary to look after them when they come home,” Milne said.

The assistant defence minister, Stuart Robert, said negotiations had been “complex”.

Robert said the “agreed commonwealth position” would ensure salary increases for more than 70,000 ADF permanent force and reserve members from 6 November.

“Ultimately, our personnel are our nation’s most important military capability and supporting them is my highest priority,” Robert said in a statement.

“In an environment of fiscal restraint I have taken a considered, methodical approach to this process which balances the government’s remuneration policy with recognition of the unique nature of military service.”

Binskin acknowledged in his email that personnel may be disappointed. “I know that some of you will believe this increase does not properly acknowledge the job you do,” he wrote.



“However, as I noted earlier, this proposal must be viewed in the context of the broader economic situation. I am of the view given the circumstances, this is a fair and reasonable offer and is as good an outcome as I can negotiate in the current climate.”

About 600 ADF members have been sent to the Middle East, including 400 RAAF members who will participate in air strikes against Islamic State (Isis) targets. The ADF confirmed on Thursday the RAAF had carried out its first air strikes in Iraq.



The government has been working to finalise the legal arrangements for 200 special forces members who will advise and assist Iraqi security forces in the fight against Isis.