Australian women have advanced another step towards combat roles in the Defence Force. Defence Minister Stephen Smith recently announced all gender restrictions on females serving in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will be removed within five years, ensuring positions would then be based entirely on merit and ability. It will give women access to the remaining seven per cent of roles they are currently excluded from because of their sex – including mine disposal, navy clearance divers, air force defence guards, and army infantry and artillery combat roles…

As Australia’s next Ambassador to Iraq Lyndall Sachs will likely face a few challenges in a country still recovering from war, but she is accustomed to handling high-pressure situations in foreign regions. Her previous work with the UNHCR meant dealing with the humanitarian crisis of refugees from the Bosnian and Kosovo wars in the 1990s and, three months after being appointed Australia’s Ambassador to Lebanon, she had to help evacuate over 5,000 Australians from Beirut during intense fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group…

Back in May the Federal Government promised $300,000 of extra funding for the six National Women’s Alliances. The Minister for the Status of Women Kate Ellis recently announced the details of the successful projects, which each receive $50,000…

Senior public servant and career diplomat Jenny Bloomfield will become Australia’s new Ambassador to Greece in August when she takes over from Jeremy Newman. She will also have non-residential accreditation to Albania and Bulgaria…

Current and former ADFA cadets, graduates and personnel and cadet’s families are being encouraged to make written submissions to the review into women’s treatment at the defence force academy. Submissions can be made until 8 July…

Life-long Canberra resident Katy Gallagher is the latest woman to take up a leadership role in Australian politics after being elected Chief Minister of the ACT on 13 May. She replaced long-standing leader Jon Stanhope who retired after a decade in the job…

When the Women’s Australian Auxiliary Air Force was formed in 1941, it was the first time women had broken through the gender barriers of the defence forces – temporarily taking on wartime roles other than nursing and volunteer work. Seventy years later those gender barriers are being challenged again, with women likely to break through the last male-only defence role – as frontline combat troops…

Jody Broun is one of two new Co-Chairs of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples – the first national body to represent indigenous people since the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was abolished in 2005…

Australian politics is one female leader short after Kristina Keneally stepped down from the NSW Labor leadership after the party’s election loss. She was one of four women state Premiers, a Prime Minister, Governor General and two state Governors in office at the time – an historic number of women in such leadership roles…

As Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard’s recent visit to the US was an opportunity to put Australian women’s leadership in the international spotlight. Her visit included meetings with President Obama, an International Women’s Day speech alongside Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and an historic address to a joint meeting of Congress….