PNG-AUS DEFENCE PARTNERSHIP TO COMMENCE ADF ENLISTMENT

By NIGEL MADO

Papua New Guinea and Australia are moving ahead with plans to establish a recruitment pathway for Papua New Guineans to join the Australian Defence Force, with the first pilot training program expected to get underway during the current financial year.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said significant preparatory work was already underway, including recruitment planning, advertising and the selection process.

He said Australia wanted the recruitment process to be substantially underway by June 30, 2027.

“The process of having the first pilot training program for the first year is really underway during the course of this financial year,” Marles said.

The recruitment pathway is one of the key early priorities under the Pukpuk Treaty, which came into force on July 8, 2026.

PNG Defence Minister Elias Kapavore said implementation of the treaty was a major priority for the PNG Government, while the recruitment of Papua New Guineans into the ADF would represent a significant development in defence cooperation between the two countries.

Marles said the two governments still had substantial work to complete before recruitment could begin, including determining how applicants would be selected and how the program would be advertised.

Further details are expected to be discussed at the next Ministerial Forum between PNG and Australia in the coming months.

The recruitment program will be separate from PNG’s own Defence Force recruitment process.

Kapavore said PNG was continuing to deal with internal recruitment matters and was finalising a report on the recruitment process undertaken over the past several months.

He said PNG expected to commence another domestic recruitment process in early September.

Marles said Australia’s plans to develop a recruitment pipeline for Papua New Guineans were not being affected by the challenges facing PNG’s domestic recruitment process.

He said Australia remained committed to moving ahead with the program as part of the implementation of the Pukpuk Treaty.

The pathway is expected to give eligible Papua New Guineans an opportunity to train in PNG before progressing towards entry into the Australian Defence Force.

The two governments are now working through the practical arrangements required to make that pathway operational.