Quite confused here, is emergency responder/combat rescue operator apart of 3CER? Do I join as an engineer? Is it completely separate job role from engineers? Is it just some cool wording and I'll end up putting out kitchen fires all week? Looking for the most PJ like job roll the adf has to offer

Hi, I want to join either as a Nurse O or a Medic within either the Army or Air-Force, I've read both job pages from both of the services but I wanted to know if there is anything I should expect enlisting as either that the ADF doesn't mention?

My main objective would probably be a Emergency/Trauma Nurse (potentially even trying to build skills in AME) or an Intensive Care Paramedic, would the army or airforce provide better experiences for these specific roles?

Also are there any specific posting oppurtunities as support staff for NO's? I've read articles where some Army Nurses have posted to infantry battalions or special forces units, if so, how would a NO go about doing that? and what experiences can they expect?

Hey I’m 19 and wanna join infantry reserves. What could I expect going into this?

My only reasons for joining are because I love my country and its people and want to have the knowledge to help if bad times come.

Whats the life as an infantry reserve like? (I’m a fairly fit guy and love a good challenge)

I have a diversion order -- an order from the court preventing me from receiving a criminal record for a crime I committed. When companies or corporations do a police check, they see a clean record.

Does ADF have access to diversion order info?

Hi everyone,

I’m 25 and, after a few years in the corporate world, I’ve decided it’s time to enlist. I’ve spent a lot of time reading, training (BFA, general strength), and reflecting, and I feel ready to take the leap. While I understand the argument for starting in the reserves to test the waters, I know the 9-5 lifestyle isn’t for me, and I’m prepared to take the risk of going full-time.

That said, I do have some concerns about fitting into the culture. I’m genuinely looking forward to the camaraderie of battalion life, but I’m not sure how well I’ll align with certain aspects, particularly the social scene. I’ve moved past the “getting drunk every night with the boys” phase, and from what I’ve read and heard, that seems to be a significant part of the culture—especially with fewer deployments and trips happening nowadays.

What’s the current vibe in the battalions? I’ve heard morale isn’t great these days. Is there still a strong focus on drinking and partying after knock off?

I’m also wondering if I’m romanticizing the experience too much. Will the initial excitement wear off after a year or two of pack marching with 40kg? I've read that this is the case. A lot of what I’ve read suggests there’s a fair amount of dissatisfaction, with many people not wanting to be there. Most advice suggests joining a role which gives you qualifications for something in the civilian world, but I am fortunate to have a degree and corporate experience as a backup if things don’t work out, whether it’s due to injury or other reasons after my IMPS

I'd love to hear insights from anyone familiar with the "Drone Operator" position. How does its culture compare to regular artillery? I’ve heard artillery units are quite regimented—does that extend to drone operators as well?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Thinking of signing up for reserves in infantry. Accountant by day so looking to switch it up and shoot shit, get fit, make money and feel good by slapping our flag on my arm and name on my chest. Will infantry fulfil these desires? I've seen that we do the basic 3 weeks at kapooka. Do we then immediately do our IET's? I've seen that full timers do a course at singleton. Is this the exact same course for reserves or a shortened version for 2 weeks? Cheers lads

At the beginning of this year I started my application for the RAAF, I got as far as completing my JOR with every job being available to me, and then a coaching session over call, I had found out that since I had taken an alternative route to completing year 12 I was not eligible for the role I was after, because of this I paused my application and I am now redoing my vce in an adult course, with the subjects required for my role and others I believe will be helpful, I was wondering if I can/should start up my application at the beginning of the year before I complete my vce, will this make my application quicker or will they need my results before I proceed through the application process?

Considering this as a preference if I decide I want to try out for officer training. I would be doing chocs by the way.

The degree I’m currently doing is in economics; would I have a harder time getting posted to a CE corps after officer training?

Hi all,

I submitted my ADF role preferences in Feb 2023, 1. Full time Airforce, 2. Army Reserves.

Since I submitted this my financial circumstances have changed a fair amount. I am looking at getting a mortgage soon and the full time RAAF role would mean I’d be taking a substantial pay cut while training. Post training I’d still be making less than I am currently. I’m very interested in the RAAF role but I realise reserves might better suit my financial situation.

Has anyone else been in this situation? I’m assuming there is some way around this as I’m sure it would be a barrier for some people to join the ADF full time especially later in life.

Keen to hear your thoughts.

I am a 24 year old civilian who wants to join the Australian SF, preferably the 2nd commando regiment however would take SASR also which I believe from 2025 civies will be able to attempt to enter directly. I am extremely fit and have been training like a mad man the past 5 months. I have done lots of solo backpacking all of the world including western Europe, middle east, north Africa and north America. As the title mentions I am a skydive instructor who can teach people to solo Skydive, I am also a base jumper. Will my experience with travel and parachutes give me a bit more of advantage to the recruiters?

Any advice training advice that will help me with the SFs testing would be greatly appreciated. I currently hit upper body at the gym, do calisthenics (can do 60 pushups and 14 pull ups) and do lots of long distance running and march ruckig.

Hey, Im a 24M year old looking for a place in the ADF. I graduated year 12 with no ATAR but have been direction-less and in dead end jobs for quite some time. Have always wanted to serve but I am getting conflicting reports as to whether or not it's worth joining with the current state of the ADF. Im seriously concerning infantry but also want to study while serving as I don't plan on staying in for life. I'm tired of being a boy in a man's body and think serving will give me some discipline and direction in life. I don't really have anywhere else to turn so some advice would be very much appreciated, or just take take the piss out of me in the comments, I don't mind.

Hi all,

I’m in the final stages of my ADF application, looking to get my enlistment date soon as I’ve passed my medical, etc.

One thing I’m not sure about is if I should start the steps to recognise my partner as a spouse/if he classifies as one? When I was interviewed, I mentioned my partner and they suggested I should get him recognised as a spouse.

I’ve been with my partner for 5 years + and have lived with him and his family periodically a few times. However, I recently just bought my first home solo and since he’s not ready to take on a mortgage, I’ve moved in there myself and he’s stayed home with his family.

My question is, in this situation can he be deemed in a recognised relationship with me/receive any benefits such as travelling to see me go to IMT or so on? Would it be worth it in any way ? We aren’t too concerned either way but also don’t know if it’s something that could come back to bite us if we did / didn’t take some action to have our relationship recognised…

Thank you!

Approximately six months ago, I was charged with a DUI and went to court, where my license was disqualified. However, due to the nature of the case, the court ruled in my favor, and no conviction was recorded.

Could this affect my eligibility for officer entry into the ADF or ADFA?

Thank you for your time and guidance.

Hi all,

tldr- has anyone ever voluntarily withdrawn their application to reapply in the future? why? thinking of withdrawing when I'm close to enlistment because i wanna max out my stats first

Was wondering if anyone has ever gone through the recruitment process more than once, but voluntarily withdrew their application before or close to their enlistment date, and reapplied to defence at a later date. Why did you do so? What was the reapplication experience like?

I've read elsewhere how there seems to be a common theme where due to just how tedious and slow the recruitment process is, candidates end up finding something else that's of interest to them and by the time ADFR gets back to them, they've already gone off to greener pastures. warning sob story ahead

I spent a year waiting, having appealed as well - I believe I am close to receiving an enlistment date. But in that time waiting, I settled down and actually focused on my hobbies, joined a sports club that has a progression component to it and a good community, had some serious self reflection and realised maybe that commander who interviewed me back in January was right in saying I lacked experience. Ironically, I think I'm too young.

I'm considering going to uni, finishing a degree and reapplying in 3 years time. I'll be 22/23 then. Haven't had the luxury of enjoying civvie life fresh out of high school because I didn't know any better and obsessed so much about getting this navy job that I missed out on the most free time I'll ever have in my life lol. I guess that goes to show how naive I was. Unfortunately now I have things to lose because of adfr's ghosting. That's a hard lesson learnt.

I'm deadset on the navy as my career and something that I will do in my life - but maybe not right now. I know this comes off as a lack of resolve/poor decision-making on my part, and that I'll have to go through the same arduous process in 2 years time (taking note the year long duration haha). But maybe it's for the better that I let this opportunity go and come back better equipped.

I’m 41M and recently applied for the Army Reserves. It was something I’ve thought about for years and I finally did it as my circumstances had changed. However, I was rejected for reasons I won’t mention.

Does anyone have any advice on where to from here - in the areas of finding similar work, learning similar skills, similar experiences?

I’m thinking I’ll probably reapply in 2 years but I’d be expecting the same result.

Title. i’ve just finished year 12 and i am looking to complete a degree in mechanical engineering which i am considering getting sponsored by the adf which will lead to myself becoming a RAEME officer. i am mostly looking to work in australia so i can be near family and i would like to know my chances of getting deployed. thanks.

I'm considering a career change to join the ADF as a Cyber Warfare Officer. While I'm excited about the opportunity to serve my country and work in a disciplined environment, I'm concerned about the Initial Minimum Period of Service (IMPS) requirement of six years.

Given my current salary of around 200k AUD and my experience in cybersecurity, I'm worried about the potential financial impact of a significant pay cut. Additionally, I've enjoyed the flexibility of remote work and with international travel, and I'm concerned about losing these freedoms.

I'm curious if anyone has successfully negotiated lesser IMPS than 6 years or found ways to conclude military service earlier than 6 years. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, I have submitted my Lateral Transfer application to the RAN.
Now, I believe the only thing left to do is wait.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am a Surface Warfare Officer in Korean Navy. I am eagerly looking forward to the opportunity to meet you, mates, in the ADF.

If you have any tips or advice for navigating the waiting process, I would greatly appreciate it.

I understand the rules of this subreddit and I’m not here to ask questions about my personal medical stuff. I’ve just got an email saying I need to complete additional medical assessments for my third preference as it’s an aircraft role. I’ve completed everything else including my defence interview and I don’t want this to be the thing that slows me down, I want to know if I can remove it from my preferences but my careers management person has gone on leave with no email for a second person to contact and when I called the recruitment number the answer I got was “uhhh idk”

Just wanted to know if anyone roughly know how long it took them or if you can change preferences post assessment day. I’m trying to get in for three 20th of jan window.

Anyone else find themselves waiting a long time for the booking team to contact them? I know the “contacted within 6 weeks” is actually just a rough estimate, but it’s been about 11 weeks now..

howdy. currently in the application process for a general entry job in the navy and wondering what day to day life as a sailor is like, particularly on the work-life balance side of things when not deployed. what do you do after work? is it as simple as a regular 9-5 where you're free to just go home after work/whenever you finish (if you're posted at your home town)?

Can you still attend things like external sports clubs in your free time (if you're not using the gym on base)? And realistically, what is social life like with non-ADF/civilian people?

Also - out of curiosity, what kind of combat sports does the ADF sports offer? I've seen judo and WTF taekwondo.

Hi All,
I am applying as an Army pilot and have just received the link for my online JOA aptitude test. Because I want to give my self the best shot with my application, I took out a course from ADF mentors which is designed to prepare you for the aptitude test.

The first part of the course (which is designed for the old, not online test), I was able to breeze through easily, however, their new Online JOA course is hugely more difficult with complex worded linear equations questions, number sequences with 2-3 completely different changes happening in one sequence, and other strangely hard questions that I cant image being able to answer within the timeframe of the test.

I'm really struggling with getting good results on their practice aptitude tests and am wanted to know if the online test is really as hard as this preparation organization is making it seem?

Thanks for your help.

Hi, I’m applying to an adf gap year for aviation operations and was wondering where I could find specifics about the employment training and what tools and such will be used as the website is quite vague.

Former civilian, came to Ukraine at start of the year.

Have nearly finished my 6 month contract and looking to (if possible) transition into the ADF with my experience, however unsure of the possibilities etc.

I am a qualified Designated Marksman and Machine gunner.

Have completed several combat operations and had small arms engagements at as close as 25 meters.
Have a wide skillset over most NATO weapon systems and some Soviet ones (PKM, Dragunov, AKM etc)

Just unsure if this is a straight "no go" type of situation or if my experience and skills aquired during the conflict would be seen as a benefit to ADF.

I am also 31 years old. Unsure if that's important.

Worst case, I will remain here and continue to serve as I don't think I could transition back to civilian life, as in comparison yes it is safer, however is much more boring and mundane.

Appreciate all helpful answers,

Thanks.

Hey guys, got my defence interview coming up soon, just triple checking I’m not missing anything, what documents do I need to bring?

I know most stuff is uploaded to the candidate hub but I figure bringing physical copies of those docs would also be appropriate.

Obviously my forms of ID, birth cert, passport, driver etc

A resume or employment history

Education docs, highschool reports, uni/tafe certs

the background check docs and references.

My own personal notes to go over

Anything else important I may be missing or just another “you’re overthinking it mate” moment. Cheers.

Hi all, I’ve gotten the dates for all 3 of my assessments and just wanted to ask for advice about what I should do to prepare. I’ve been looking through the resources they sent me, but is there any other things I should focus on?

G'day all. Would just like some advice on a good workout/running routine from those who know in regards for fitness for infantry. Already somewhat fit (I'm in the cattle industry) but there is that many fitness routines out there I'd just like to know how to properly do it and get stuck into it.

Cheers

I'm researching what working as an MO in the RAN would look like. As a general observation, how much sea time do MOs get compared to other roles? Are MOs more likely to get posted to a shore base in a clinic?

I’m thinking of joining and doing the gap year, after having a look at the options, the airforce security has gotten my attention, but i asked my old man about it (retired clearance diver) he said to choose something else, does anyone else back this? Any reasons why?