Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2008/Overseas applicants knocking on Navy’s door
A veteran with six years in the Gulf and service in the Falklands and Caribbean, Terry migrated with his wife, Dawn, and two sons in 2006 to join the RAN as a PO.
He’s currently is Combat Systems Interoperability Manager at the Directorate of Navy Warfare Systems at Fyshwick.
Dawn works as a teaching assistant at the ACT’s Campbell Park Primary School.
— Pic by LSPH Yuri Ramsay.
By Annie Casey
The RAN has limited vacancies for qualified and experienced current serving or ex-serving officers and sailors of foreign naval and military forces.
These opportunities are regulated by a labour agreement with the Departments of Employment Workplace Relations (DEWR) and Immigration and Citzenship (DIAC). This agreement enables the RAN to provide sponsorship of permanent residency visas for recommended individuals within agreed employment groups.
The overseas appointment cell (OAC) in the Directorate of Naval Officers’ Postings (DNOP) administers the complex details involved with potential candidates and it is the only authorized cell that assesses an applicants eligibility and suitability of applicants, often in consultation with desk officers and category sponsors. It is a busy “one-stop shop” which fields around 60 enquiries a month from foreign services applicants.
The program assists in addressing capability shortfalls within the Navy that cannot be solved using Australian personnel. It is aimed at serving or immediately ex-serving (not more than three years since separation from military service) foreign naval military personnel, with specific qualifications and/or experience that are directly transferable to the RAN with very limited extra training.
LCDR Terry George is the officer-in-charge of the small cell and responsible for the overall administration and processing of lateral recruits into the Navy (officers and sailors).
Prospective lateral recruits often seek advice from serving Navy members, including category sponsors. But people outside DNOP should not speculate on recruitment opportunities or appointment conditions, particularly rank and seniority.
Appropriately qualified individuals interested in joining the RAN should in the first instance be directed to the defence jobs website and then contact the OAC for further details.
Navy is modifying the lateral entry program to deliver the most organisationally efficient and equitable outcome for all.
At this stage, there will be three entry periods - January, June and September. Increasingly, the lateral entry opportunities for Navy presented in the labour agreement have a focus on critical and perilous occupations and people who satisfy immigration age entry requirements.
In accordance with immigration regulations, 45 is the maximum age for appointment.
Officers and sailors are assessed on a number of requirements including security, medical and fitness status, family/social considerations and military background.
The OAC is the authority on an overseas applicants’ suitability and eligibility because they are the only people with the correct information on lateral entry into the RAN.
Applications are considered on a case-by-case basis depending on capability needs at the time of application, as well as experience, qualifications and ease of integration into the RAN.
Applicants approved for sponsorship must obtain a permanent resident visa - and ensure their dependents hold a permanent resident visa - before they may be appointed.
Previously, an applicant may have been considered with a commitment to three years service however, this is about to change to a more realistic six years as a minimum term of service, to be eligible for ADF service.
This program is not for personnel wishing to transfer to the Royal Australian Naval Reserves (RANR) however those interested may apply for enlistment through Defence Force Recruiting, once they have satisfied normal Australian permanent residency requirements.
All lateral appointments to the Royal Australian Navy are merit based and governed by the Defence Act 1903, the Defence (Personnel) Regulations (2002), Labour Agreement and DI(G) PERS 33-1, Australian Defence Force Policy on Citizenship requirements for entry to and service in the Australian Defence Force.
More info is at http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/recruitmentcentre/overseasapplicants/ or available from LCDR George on + 61 (0)2 6265 2237.
