The Australian Department of Defense has begun recruiting foreigners to serve in the Australian Defense Force due to a shortage of personnel.

This was reported by 9NEWS.

It is expected that hundreds of foreigners will be recruited to serve in the Australian Defense Force and help solve the problem of staff shortages both in the infantry and among the pilots of modern F-35 and missile destroyers.

Starting January 1, 2025, Americans, British and Canadians will be able to enlist in the Defense Force, provided they have lived in Australia for 12 months and have not served in a foreign army in the past two years.

Along with enlistment, a person must submit a package of documents to obtain Australian citizenship in the future. According to the Department of Defense, this will allow them to increase the number of active servicemen and women and attract people from prosperous countries.

At the same time, Defense Personnel Minister Matt Keogh stated that about 350 people from the Five Eyes Alliance countries are expected to join the force this fiscal year.

As the Australian Department of Defense recently reported, the Defense Force is unable to find an additional 4,000 soldiers, prompting it to recruit foreigners.

It is also expected that service permits may be opened to the citizens of Pacific island countries.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the Ministers of Defense of Australia and New Zealand had signed a new “Joint Statement on Closer Defense Relations”.

On December 6, 2024, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and New Zealand Defense Minister Judith Collins signed a new “Joint Statement on Closer Defense Relations”.

The main purpose of the updated document is to strengthen coordination, coherence and interoperability between the military structures of the two countries.

The central element of military cooperation between the two countries remains the 1951 ANZUS Treaty, which obliges the allies to provide mutual assistance in the event of an attack on one of the countries in the Pacific region. However, the new statement provides for additional commitments to strengthen coordination, coherence and interoperability between the Armed Forces.