The introduction of secular wellbeing support workers into the Royal Australian Navy has delivered a “complementary non-religious alternative” helping to meet the mental health and wellbeing needs of personnel, says the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal (DFRT).

In a formal statement published late last month, the DFRT – an independent authority – said it was “apparent to us” that demand for the support from the secular workers, known as Maritime Spiritual Wellbeing Officers (MSWOs), was strong.

The statement followed the interim review – as reported by the Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA) last year – that revealed “strong demand” for the new capability and showed it was meeting the needs of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) majority non-religious workforce.

The outcome will increase pressure on the Army and Air Force to follow Navy’s lead in providing a non-religious frontline wellbeing option for their personnel. 

Despite promises to review their religious-based pastoral care capability, Army and Air Force continue to provide only religious chaplains – and, increasingly, Pentecostal and evangelical Christian chaplains.

Having introduced the MSWO roles in 2020, DFRT was required to provide a statement on the ADF’s “report back” (the interim review) into the implementation of the MWSOs.

The statement says Navy has recruited 16 MSWOs, including five from in-service transfers, and has MSWOs working both ashore and at sea, performing all the roles and activities performed by chaplains except for religious activities.

It says MSWOs have delivered more than 15,000 pastoral care interventions and 2,600 spiritual care interventions.

“It is apparent to us that ‘while the MSWO workforce is small in number, demand for MSWO support is strong’,” says the statement, quoting part of the previous interim review report.

“We thank the ADF for the depth of reporting and agree the introduction of the MSWO has broadened the diversity within Navy Chaplaincy and, while Chaplains continue to play a vital role, the MSWO provides a complementary non-religious alternative in support of the mental health and wellbeing of Navy people and their families.”

The RSA has been actively advocating for secular reform of the Army’s and Navy’s chaplaincy capability, arguing that they were failing to provide appropriate wellbeing support to non-religious personnel because religion was a barrier for many in seeking care.

The initial 2022 interim review into Navy’s MSWO roles revealed a staggering gap in secular support for non-religious personnel across Defence, with the ratio of Christian chaplains to Christian personnel at 1:134 while the ratio for non-religious pastoral carers to non-religious personnel was 1:11992.

When the DFRT approved the introduction of MSWOs in 2020, a footnote in the ‘Decision document’ said Army and Air Force “do not intend to make any changes to their respective Chaplaincy workforces.”

A spokesman for the responsible minister, Matt Keogh, told the RSA in late 2022 that the Army and Air Force would “examine the lessons” of the Navy’s secular roles, with a review due in 2024.

Since late 2022, Defence representatives have also told Senate estimates hearings and the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide that Army and Air Force would consider adding secular wellbeing officers to their chaplaincy branches.

A Defence spokesperson told The Guardian last year that Navy’s trial of the secular roles would be “assessed”, with Army and Air Force to look at similar programs.

However, the RSA does not know whether the DFRT process is the only review being conducted into the MSWO roles.

The Rationalist Society of Australia is actively lobbying and advocating for secular reform of the Defence Force. See the latest updates here.

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Si Gladman is Executive Director of the Rationalist Society of Australia. He also hosts ‘The Secular Agenda’ podcast.

Image: Department of Defence/Commonwealth of Australia