Editing Australian Defence Force (section)

===2020–present===
[[File:President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the AUKUS meeting in San Diego, California, March 13, 2023 - 230313-D-TT977-0319.jpg|thumb|left|Australian Prime Minister [[Anthony Albanese]], US President [[Joe Biden]] and British Prime Minister [[Rishi Sunak]] during a meeting held in March 2023 to announce the details of Australia's plans to acquire nuclear attack submarines as part of the [[AUKUS]] partnership]]
The Australian Government believes that the country's strategic circumstances are worsening due to the threat posed by China. This has led to decisions to expand the ADF and enhance its ability to participate in high intensity combat. The ''2020 Defence Strategic Update'' called for the ADF's efforts to be focused on the [[Indo-Pacific]] region. It also concluded that there was no longer a ten-year period of strategic warning before Australia could be involved in a major war. The document stated that the ADF's funding would be expanded, and its capacity to strike at targets from a long distance be improved.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldrick |first1=James |title=Defence Strategic Update 2020: A first assessment {{!}} Lowy Institute |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/defence-strategic-update-2020-first-assessment |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=lowyinstitute.org |date=2 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref> In September 2021, Australia entered into the [[AUKUS]] trilateral security partnership with the United Kingdom and United States. As part of this partnership, Australia will obtain [[SSN (hull classification symbol)|nuclear attack submarines]] to significantly improve the RAN's capabilities - this replaced a plan to acquire 12 conventionally powered [[Attack-class submarine|''Attack''-class submarines]] in partnership with France. The three AUKUS countries also agreed to collaborate on a range of military technologies.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aukus: UK, US and Australia launch pact to counter China |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58564837 |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=BBC News |date=16 September 2021}}</ref>

An investigation of allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan was completed in November 2020. The [[Brereton Report]] found that there was evidence that 25 Australian special forces personnel committed war crimes on 25 occasions, resulting in the deaths of 39 people and the mistreatment of two others. General [[Angus Campbell (general)|Angus Campbell]] accepted all of the 143 recommendations made in the report.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grattan |first1=Michelle |title=Evidence of war crimes found against 25 Australian soldiers in Afghanistan |url=https://theconversation.com/evidence-of-war-crimes-found-against-25-australian-soldiers-in-afghanistan-150377 |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=The Conversation |date=19 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref> The government announced the implementation of 139 of the recommendations in 2024, with the remaining relating to ongoing criminal investigations by the newly created Office of the Special Investigator.<ref>{{cite news|title=Defence commanders stripped of medals after Afghanistan war crimes investigation ends|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-12/afghanistan-war-crimes-inquiry-ends-commanders-medals-stripped/104341114|date=2024-09-12|work=ABC News }}</ref> The office charged a first soldier with war crimes in March 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Doherty |first1=Ben |title=Australian defence chief warns further criminal charges could be laid over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/11/defence-chief-flags-more-allegations-of-afghanistan-war-crimes-made-against-australian-soldiers |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=11 April 2023}}</ref>

During August 2021, RAAF aircraft participated in [[2021 Kabul airlift|an international airlift]] to evacuate people from Kabul in Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban. An Army infantry company was deployed to Kabul as part of this operation. More than 3,500 people were evacuated by the RAAF.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dziedzic |first1=Stephen |title=Australia's Afghanistan evacuation mission ends in one of ADF's 'finest moments' |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-09/afghan-refugees-australia-evacuation-mission-ends/100448160 |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=ABC News |date=9 September 2021 |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Diggers on a mission like no other |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2021-09-09/diggers-mission-no-other |publisher=Department of Defence |access-date=25 April 2023 |date=9 September 2021}}</ref> Following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] in February 2022 Australia provided military assistance to Ukraine. {{As of|April 2023}}, this included the transfer of military equipment from the ADF worth $A475 million and the deployment of an Army training team to the United Kingdom to train Ukrainian soldiers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Invasion of Ukraine by Russia |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/crisis-hub/invasion-ukraine-russia |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=25 April 2023}}</ref>

The election of the ALP [[Albanese government]] in May 2022 did not significantly change Australia's defence posture, as the ALP and Coalition parties have broadly similar defence policies. This includes an agreement on China posing a threat to Australia's security. The main difference is that the ALP sees [[climate change]] as an important security issue.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hurst |first1=Daniel |title=Peter Dutton casts Coalition as stronger than Labor on defence as election nears – so how different are they? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/19/peter-dutton-casts-coalition-as-stronger-than-labor-on-defence-as-election-nears-so-how-different-are-they |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=18 March 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|International Institute for Strategic Studies|2023|p=216}} After coming to power, the Albanese government commissioned the [[Defence Strategic Review]] that was publicly released in April 2023. The review found that the security challenges facing Australia had continued to worsen, and called for the ADF to be restructured to meet the threats. This includes transitioning the ADF from its traditional structure of a "balanced force" capable of a range of activities to a "focused force" tailored mainly to protecting Australia from military attack or [[coercion]]. As part of this change, the review recommended reducing the planned size of the Army's mechanised forces and expanding its long-range firepower. The review also identified climate change as a threat to Australia and called for a "whole of nation effort" to defending Australia that goes beyond the ADF.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Blaxland |first1=John |author1-link=John Blaxland (historian) |title=The much-anticipated defence review is here. So what does it say, and what does it mean for Australia? |url=https://theconversation.com/the-much-anticipated-defence-review-is-here-so-what-does-it-say-and-what-does-it-mean-for-australia-204267 |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=The Conversation |date=24 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref> The government accepted most of the review's recommendations.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hurst |first1=Daniel |title=Defence strategic review: Australia will build longer range military power amid 'radically different' security environment |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/apr/24/australia-defence-strategic-review-missile-production-corvette-warships-adf-australian-military-news |access-date=25 April 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=24 April 2023}}</ref>