The Rationalist Society of Australia has questioned a military chief on when the Australian Defence Force will finally provide all non-religious Defence personnel with the option of accessing secular and non-religious frontline wellbeing support.

In a letter last month, the RSA told Chief of Personnel, Lieutenant General Natasha Fox (pictured), that it was “deeply concerned” about the Defence Force’s failure to meet the wellbeing needs of its majority non-religious workforce.

Despite 61 per cent of Defence personnel identifying as not religious, the Air Force and the Army only provide religious chaplains – all requiring theology degrees – as their uniformed and embedded wellbeing support and pastoral care capability.

In the letter, RSA Executive Director Si Gladman noted that a review of the Navy’s handful of secular and non-religious wellbeing support roles had found “strong demand” among personnel.

He also pointed out that, as far back as 2022, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Matt Keogh, had promised that Army and Air Force would “examine the lessons” of Navy’s initiative that introduced secular roles in its chaplaincy branch. 

As the RSA has reported in recent years, Army and Air Force leaders have since told Senate estimates and the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide that they would consider contemporising their frontline wellbeing support capabilities.

“We are deeply concerned about the ADF’s failure to meet the wellbeing needs of its people due to the lack of non-religious frontline pastoral care/wellbeing support for its majority non-religious workforce…” wrote Mr Gladman.

“When will non-religious personnel in all three services – Army, Air Force and Navy – be able to access secular/non-religious frontline wellbeing support/pastoral care?

“The ADF should modernise its frontline wellbeing/pastoral care capabilities to ensure all personnel have access to appropriate wellbeing support – including fair representation of non-religious options.”

Mr Gladman told Lieutenant General Fox that the RSA, supported by a number of other organisations, had raised this issue as part of a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) (fourth cycle) into Australia’s human rights. 

The submission argued that Defence’s failure to provide non-religious frontline wellbeing support for its non-religious personnel was an example of discriminatory and unfair treatment against non-religious people in a government institution. As such, the submission said the Defence Force was in breach of Australia’s international human rights commitments that provide for equal treatment of religion and belief.

Mr Gladman questioned Lieutenant General Fox on whether the Defence Force had sought legal advice on whether the provision of religious chaplaincy was consistent with Australia’s international human rights commitments

He also asked whether the Defence Force had ever surveyed its non-religious personnel to ascertain their preferences for religious or non-religious frontline wellbeing support/pastoral care.

The RSA wrote to Minister Keogh six months ago seeking confirmation from the Albanese government on when non-religious Defence personnel would be able to access non-religious frontline wellbeing support. However, the minister has not responded.

For a number of years, the RSA has been calling for secular reform of Defence’s frontline wellbeing support/pastoral care capability, concerned that religious-based chaplaincy put up barriers to many personnel seeking help and that chaplains viewed their role as a missionary one.

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

If you want to support our work, please make a donation or become a member.

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)

RSA letter to Chief of Personnel Lieutenant General Natasha Fox, 18 December 2025

Dear Lieutenant General Fox,

I’m writing on behalf of the Rationalist Society of Australia (RSA) – Australia’s oldest freethought organisation promoting reason, secularism and evidence-based policy – in regards to the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) reliance on religious-based chaplaincy/pastoral care.

We are deeply concerned about the ADF’s failure to meet the wellbeing needs of its people due to the lack of non-religious frontline pastoral care/wellbeing support for its majority non-religious workforce (now with 61 per cent of personnel identifying as not religious, according to official Defence data). This is especially so in the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force – both of which only provide religious-based chaplaincy as frontline pastoral care/wellbeing support.

Earlier this year, my organisation – supported by eight non-religious, ex-religious and pro-secular organisations – raised this issue as part of a joint submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) (fourth cycle) into Australia’s human rights. In a submission to the UPR, we said that Defence’s failure to provide non-religious frontline wellbeing support for its non-religious personnel was an example of discriminatory and unfair treatment against non-religious people in a government institution and, as such, was in breach of Australia’s international human rights commitments that provide for equal treatment of religion and belief.

As you know, only the Royal Australia Navy provides a handful of secular/non-religious wellbeing officers/pastoral carers in its chaplaincy branch. You will also know that a review into these roles found “strong demand” among Navy personnel for the secular/non-religious roles.

We note that, in 2022, the office of the Minister for Defence Personnel told us that the Army and Air Force would “examine the lessons” of Navy’s initiative to introduce secular roles. Similarly, Army and Air Force leaders have, in recent years, told Senate estimates and the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide that their services would consider contemporising their frontline wellbeing support capabilities.

Official Defence data reveals the staggering gap in the level of support for religious personnel compared to non-religious personnel. The ratio of Christian chaplains to Christian Defence personnel is 1:134, while the ratio for non-religious pastoral carers to non-religious personnel is 1:11,992.

We also note that other comparable nations are taking steps in the right direction, with the British Army becoming the latest to add a non-religious pastoral carer to its chaplaincy branch.

Lieutenant General Fox, we would appreciate it if you could answer the following questions for us:

• When will non-religious personnel in all three services – Army, Air Force and Navy – be able to access secular/non-religious frontline wellbeing support/pastoral care?
• Has/or will the ADF seek legal advice on whether the provision of religious-only chaplaincy is consistent with Australia’s international human rights commitments to freedom of religion and belief?
• Has the ADF ever surveyed its non-religious personnel to ascertain their preferences for religious or non-religious frontline wellbeing support/pastoral care? If so, when? And what were the results?

The ADF should modernise its frontline wellbeing/pastoral care capabilities to ensure all personnel have access to appropriate wellbeing support – including fair representation of non-religious options.

Regards,

Si Gladman

Executive Director,

Rationalist Society of Australia