Publication:Sea Talk Autumn 2008/Reserves column
By the Director of Naval Reserve Capability, CAPT Joseph Lukaitis
Fourth NR Symposium – Sydney
The fourth biennial NR symposium was held in Sydney on February 1 as part of the NR Professional Studies Program.
A busy day of civilian and military presentations on the subject Leveraging the Part time Work Force provoked much thought and discussion amongst PN and NR officers who attended.
A common theme of all speakers included the fact that the Navy (like all Australian employers) is in a battle for talent to attract and retain the best people in the right numbers for naval service both full-time and part-time. This is because the number of young Australians entering the workforce each year is declining.
Quality part-time work, flexibility of service conditions and recognition and use of civilian skills were stressed as part of the way ahead for the Reserve workforce especially in the context of five large, sophisticated ships entering service with the RAN between 2013 and 2017. Of particular relevance to reservists will be the planned introduction of the landing helicopter deck ships (LHDs) HMAS Canberra in 2015 and HMAS Adelaide in 2017.
The future relationship between industry and the RAN was explored and the concept of industry sharing its employees with Navy and Reservists appears to be moving closer to a reality.
The new Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence Dr Mike Kelly (who is an Army Reservist), CN VADM Russ Shalders AO CSC RAN and Chairman of the ASX and ABC, Mr Maurice Newman AC, addressed the symposium with ten other speakers from both industry and the ADF to make up a busy and constructive day for those who attended.
Defence Housing Loan Changes
The Defence Housing Loan Scheme has been re-vamped. All reservists should be aware that from July 1, the loan limit has been increased to a maximum of $312,000.00.
There are three Tiers of qualification for reservists:
a) Tier One - $160,000.00 after 8 years of service
b) Tier Two - $234,000.00 after 12 years of service
c) Tier Three - $312,000.00 after 16 years of service.
This is a significant increase and is certainly a plus for reservists. Under the scheme eight years continuous efficient service must be completed for eligibility. Efficient service is defined as a maximum of 20 days service performed within the reserve training year. For full details of the new scheme you will need to consult the Naval Reserve web-site.
The scheme provides a substantial interest subsidy and will be a major benefit to reservists who qualify. The range of banks who participate in the scheme has been increased.
The most up to date information on the Defence Home Ownership Assistance Scheme and how it applies to Reservists is at http://intranet.defence.gov.au/pac or www.defencew.gov.au/dpe/pac.
NR Handy Billy
The second edition of the NR Handy Billy is planned to be provided with the next edition of SeaTalk. This follows favourable reports about the first edition and its usefulness as an informal reference for reservists. Although the aim is to keep it small and handy the second edition will have some extra pages of information. It will be specifically targeting reservists to take part in the NR Capability Enhancement Program by taking up operational positions within the FEGS.
