NZ Defence Forces turning tide on attrition woes

Defence Minister Judith Collins says it is critical that NZ works to build back its defence force.

New Zealand’s defence forces are hopeful they have turned the tide on attrition which threatened to decimate the Kiwi military.

A post-pandemic malaise has seen thousands of NZDF personnel – across the three services of army, navy and air force, and also civilian employees – leave in recent years.

In the two years to January, 3228 people left the NZDF, which had an average headcount of 11,824 at the end of 2023.

The navy suffered the highest turnover, with 17 per cent leaving in the year to January 2023, just ahead of the army, with 16.9 per cent.

Attrition – described by former defence minister Andrew Little as “a big hollowing out” – has hurt the military’s deployment capacity.

A lack of qualified seagoing staff has kept four of the nine-strong Kiwi navy fleet in dock in recent months.

“It’s a real concern that they’re not able to be used,” Defence Minister Judith Collins told AAP earlier this year.

“When I have questioned Defence about this, it’s been attrition basically … so what we’ve got to do in defence is to get that attrition rate down, the morale up and then the mojo back on steroids.”

Five months into the job, Ms Collins is seeing progress.

Figures provided to AAP show slowing attrition and this year, and for the first time since COVID-19, growth in overall defence numbers.

The total attrition rate was at 15.5 per cent in the year to January 2023, but sits now at 10.6 per cent – just above the decade-long average of 10 per cent.

That has allowed the NZDF to replace the staff it is losing, with headcount up marginally to 11,867 at the end of February.

“But this is not enough,” Ms Collins told AAP.

“The NZDF is completely dependent on suitably qualified and experienced personnel to deliver for New Zealand, so it is critical that we continue to work to build back our defence force and support our personnel.

“This is an absolute priority for me as minister of defence.”

NZ is far from the only country suffering from high attrition rates in its military, with many developed nations including the UK, Australia and Canada all battling to keep trained servicemen and women in uniform.

The overall numbers also hide particularly shortfalls – particularly those with particular technical skills.

Departure of musicians and writers were also running at double the average attrition rates.

Documents released under the Official Information Act showed the key reasons behind departures were opportunities elsewhere and poor remuneration.

The last Labour government moved to bridge the gap between what NZDF personnel were paid and “their market rates” by lifting annual wages for many roles by up to $NZ15,000 ($A13,800).

NZ DEFENCE ATTRITION RATES

Year to January 2023 – Overall: 15.5 per cent

Navy 17 per cent, Army 16.9 per cent, Air Force 11.9 per cent, Civilian 15.2 per cent.

Year to January 2024 – Overall: 11.4 per cent

Navy 12.5 per cent, Army 11.2 per cent, Air Force 10 per cent, Civilian 12 per cent.