DEFENCE MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs, Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6265 3343, Fax: 02 62656946
MSPA 059/09
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
FACTS REGARDING SPECIAL FORCES PAY
This release is to address misinformation in the public arena with regard to Special Forces
(SF) pay.
“Today’s media release from Senator the Hon David Johnston and The Hon Bob Baldwin
indicates that SAS soldiers will see their take home pay slashed. This is not true. Under
the transition arrangements currently in place, all SF soldiers will be retained at their
current pay group level, while time is allowed for them to become appropriately
qualified,” Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, said.
“The media release also states that many soldiers will face a reduction in salary until they
find the time to complete courses. This is incorrect. There will be a transition period in
which members will be able to reach milestones to remediate all SF trade competencies.
The details of this transition period are fully described in the Chief of Army’s Directive
06/09.
“To clarify, there will be no reduction in pay, or any debt recovery related to the Defence
Force Remuneration Tribunal’s decision during this transition process.
“That is why I have ordered a 100 per cent audit of the competencies of SF personnel and
have determined that all affected personnel will be paid for the level they are competently
performing, regardless of their formally attained proficiencies.
“In regard to the e-mail that was sent to soldiers asking them not to operate outside the
chain of command, this was done to ensure this matter is managed in the appropriate way.
The email was sent out because of a very senior soldier’s frustration with actions being
taken outside the chain of command that have compromised the Chief of Army’s
expressed intent to resolve this issue. The important parts of the e-mail deal with
identifying single points of contact, and of a genuine desire for soldiers to raise their
concerns in an appropriate manner.
“Because of the lack of a current information communications technology solution to
integrating Army’s pay with its human resources tracking, the progress in resolving this
issue has not been as rapid or as precise as I would have wished.
“I can assure the Australian public that Defence is working through this complex issue to
ensure that it is resolved. Indeed, the way ahead is quite clear. Defence understands the
concerns that some members may have and will ensure that their specific circumstances
are addressed as quickly as possible,” Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie said.
Media note:
The full text of Chief of Army’s Directive 06/09: Special Forces Trade Competency
Media contact: Defence Media Liaison: 02 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664
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