Publication:Sea Talk Spring 2008/Defence families - let’s hear your ideas on non-financial conditions of service
By CMDR Paul Doble
The changing needs of ADF members and their families will be the focus of a new review into the ADF’s non-salary related conditions of service for full time members and reserves.
In 2001 the Nunn Review looked at ADF remuneration and a series of recommendations have been implemented since then.
There is now general agreement by the Defence People Committee that the current conditions of service package is in need of review to remove anomalies and to introduce a degree of simplicity and flexibility that is not available through the current package.
This review will examine ways of delivering the suite of conditions of service currently provided to members but are up-to-date, flexible and simple to administer.
The scope of this review, due to end by mid-2009, incorporates non-salary related ADF conditions of service, so it will not cover areas such as salaries or their related allowances, superannuation, FBT or taxation, compensation or deployments.
The Navy representative on the review is LCDR Wendy Gould, a supply officer with extensive experience in the employment conditions area.
The Sea Change Implementation Team is assisting LCDR Gould to identify your - the Navy members’ - issues and ideas so they can be included into the reviews findings and recommendations, in addition to the ideas captured on Sea Change’s web-based feedback system, SCIMARS.
The consultation phase of the review has almost completed, with discussions being held with members, personnel areas within each Service, Defence Support Group, Defence Families Australia and the Defence Community Organisation.
The issues highlighted during these discussions will enable the review team to determine what changes need to be made to streamline the current employment conditions package and reflect the contemporary needs of the Services.
Navy members and their families are invited to make submissions to the review in the form of suggestions for improving the ADF’s non-salary related conditions of service via email to cos.review@defence.gov.au.
All submissions will be carefully considered in shaping a contemporary conditions of service package for the future.
Updates will be provided to members throughout the review and the overall outcome will be communicated to members and their families after the review has finished in mid 2009.
