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An overview of the submission provided by the Defence Reserves Association (DRA) to the Defence team conducting the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) into Australian Defence Force (ADF) is described in this paper. The DRA has long advocated for a better resourced and more integrated Reserve component to boost ADF capacity, both in current and contingency operational tasks. The effectiveness of the Reserve in recent regional deployments and in domestic disaster relief operations has often been acknowledged and praised, but no one would contend that resourcing of the Reserve or integrated planning for their optimisation has been a priority at the strategic centre in Canberra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tripartite technology information agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (AUKUS) was announced on 15 September 2021. This article is based on the recent presentation given by the author entitled 'Nuclear powered submarines and other AUKUS technologies for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) at a meeting of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSIDSS) in Sydney, New South Wales. The article provides an overview of AUKUS and the four technology aspects explicitly mentioned in the announcement, nuclear submarine overview, the more stringent safety and design issues that are mandatory for a nuclear submarine including the full life cycle of the nuclear fuel, and the implications and opportunities for RUSIDSS in contributing to the realisation of the AUKUS goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given changed strategic circumstances, planning on a 10-year warning of a major conventional attack on Australia is no longer appropriate. Hence, 2nd Division, an Army Reserve formation, has evolved beyond maintaining an expansion base as a strategic reserve. Its role now is principally operational. It maintains foundation war-fighting skills; raises, trains and sustains a battle group to reinforce Army's full-time ready brigade; commands, controls and contributes force elements to domestic operations [disaster relief and security support]; and contributes force elements for the ongoing defence of the nation's maritime approaches. Reserve call-out powers are available, if needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is inherently resilient. Forward looking, alert and ready, it adapts to change and, through the professionalism of its personnel and systems, remains relevant, credible and reliable. This was exemplified by a non-combatant evacuation operation from Kabul in August 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the resilience of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) comes from the support provided by Australian Defence industry which provides some operational maintenance and almost all deeper maintenance of Defence platforms and equipment. Sovereign Defence industry is a critical input to the manufacture and sustainment of many Defence capabilities across all the warfare domains -- air, land, sea, space and cyber. New South Wales (NSW)-based Defence industry has been, and will continue to be instrumental in delivering the capabilities described in the latest Defence Update and the $270B Force Structure Plan 2020. The NSW Government, in particular Investment NSW and Defence and Aerospace NSW, is supporting NSW Defence industry through a variety of programs and activities that are being delivered in accordance with the NSW Defence and Industry Strategic Plan. Supply-chain and workforce issues will continue to be key challenges for sovereign Defence industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Defence Force contributes to civil resilience by providing assistance to the civil community when requested to do so by state and territory governments when those governments are responding to natural disasters such as bushfires, floods, storms, cyclones and pandemics. Headquarters Joint Task Force 629, with task groups in each state and territory, has been raised to command and control assistance provided to the civil community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Army's 2nd Division, composed mostly of reservists - part-time citizen soldiers - has the assigned responsibility for leading domestic operations and did so during the 2020 bushfire and COVID-19 pandemic crises. Herein, the Division's commander describes the Australian Defence Force's joint response to the two crises, the command and control arrangements, interactions with civilian agencies and the wider community. She then describes how the Division, concurrently, continued to fulfil its ongoing responsibilities for other operations and readiness training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]