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.

Smith advised that on 26 September Federal Cabinet, with the military service chiefs’ full support, formally agreed to remove the discrimination against women from frontline combat roles. A staged implementation will take place over a maximum of five years.

‘We have an Australian Army that’s been going for 110 years, an Australian Navy that’s been going formally for 100 years, and an Australian Air Force that’s been going for 90 years, and last night we resolved to remove the final restrictions on the capacity of women to serve in frontline combat roles,’ he said. ‘So the last of the sex discrimination against women in frontline or combat roles will now be removed.’

The Defence Force is currently exempt from the Sex Discrimination Act (1984, Section 43), allowing it to discriminate on the basis of gender against women performing ‘combat duties’ (which are defined as those ‘requiring a person to commit, or to participate directly in the commission of an act of violence against an adversary in time of war’ *). Because of this exemption, Australia also has a ‘reservation’ in its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) **.  According to Smith the UN Convention reservation and the Section 43 exemption will be removed once the reform is fully implemented.

The five year implementation timeframe is intended to ensure the changes are successfully completed. Smith acknowledged the reform was ‘a significant and major cultural change’ and would require careful management.

‘There will be different views. There will be strong support in some quarters and there will be questioning in others,’ he said. ‘One of the reasons we want to ensure that we’ve got a well-managed, well-ordered, carefully calibrated implementation program is to make sure that there is no diminution of standards so far as roles are concerned.’

A joint study by the University of Wollongong and the Defence, Science and Technology Organisation is currently determining the physical employment standards for combat trades. According to Minister for Defence Science and Personnel Warren Snowden, this research will determine what particular physical and mental attributes and capacities will be required to do the work.

’That’s how people will be judged – their physical and psychological capacity to do the work, not on their gender,’ Snowdon said.

Asked if allowing women into combat roles would reduce a unit’s effectiveness, Smith replied: ‘the only thing that will reduce our capacity will be by making choices other than on merit.’ He and Snowdon cited examples of women who were prevented from taking up gender-restricted roles despite having the necessary desire and skill.

‘A member of my staff has a relative who is currently in a platoon,’ said Smith. ‘The best shot in the platoon is a woman. Currently, she would be prohibited and prevented from being a sniper in Afghanistan. Why would we take away the chance of the best shot in the platoon from playing that role?’

Snowdon recalled attending a graduation ceremony at Cerberus a few years earlier where the top recruit was a female sailor. Asked what trade she wanted to do, she answered ‘clearance diver’ – a role she was unable to pursue.

Removing the gender discrimination will also open up all senior positions to women – including the Chief of Defence or Head of Services, whose roles require having previous frontline service.

‘We’ve seen over the years a slow, but nonetheless progressive increase in the number of women in senior positions, and there are some notable senior women in the service at the moment,’ Smith said. ‘But this change will effectively enable into the future women to fall for consideration for all of the positions, including the highest.’

A full transcript of the joint press conference by Stephen Smith and Warren Snowdon can be found at the Defence Minister’s website.

You can read an earlier GirlsGerms story here about women breaking through the gender defences.

Photo: Leading Aircraftwoman Shannan Turley on patrol with military working dog King and members from No. 2 Airfield Defence Squadron (courtesy of Australian Defence Force – photo by LACW Kylie Gibson )

* Sex Discrimination Regulations 1984 (Reg 3)

** The reservation (reworded in August 2000) states: ‘The Government of Australia advises that it does not accept the application of the Convention in so far as it would require alteration of Defence Force policy which excludes women from combat duties.’