New Zealand Defence Force
Te Ope Kaatua O Aotearoa

Media Advisory

28 April 2008

Changes to Military Pay System

Recruiting the right people and retaining skilled and committed people in the New Zealand Defence Force is at the heart of a new military remuneration strategy, says NZDF Personnel Director Brigadier Mark Wheeler.

Under the new strategy everybody across the three Services and the reserve forces will be better off. The introduction of a fair and equitable pay system will result in pay increases of half a percent for a very small group of personnel, with most personnel receiving pay increases of between ten and twelve percent.

A small set of specialists will receive an increase of over 15% to align them to market rates in the wider employment market.

“It is no secret the New Zealand Defence Force has specific challenges regarding recruiting and retaining personnel with specialist skills. This challenge is expected to continue into the future with a tight labour market,” Brigadier Wheeler said.

“This strategy will introduce a more effective and fairer military remuneration system that supports recruitment and retention initiatives. As a result of this work it is expected that pay in the longer term will no longer be a key reason for people to leave the services.

“The strategy is a robust and comprehensive solution to improve military remuneration that will have long-standing benefits for our organisation, and it will put the New Zealand Defence Force in the best position possible, both now and in the future.

“It is not an across the board pay rise, rather it is about transforming the remuneration system in order to retain and grow our personnel in a very competitive employment market,” Brigadier Wheeler said.

He said because of the training and service of New Zealand Defence Force personnel they were sought after by the wider employment market but were not easily replaced due to the skills and competencies they acquired.

The cost to implement the new military remuneration strategy in 2008 is approximately $60 million.

The funding to implement the strategy was financed through money committed to personnel growth under the Defence Sustainability Initiative and through internal New Zealand Defence Force initiatives.

ENDS

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