Australians will continue to be able to serve in foreign armies, including those accused of war crimes, without government oversight, after parliament rejected a bid to require disclosure of overseas military service.
The Senate on Thursday voted down a Greens amendment requiring travellers to declare foreign military service, as reports emerged that former Australian and British special forces veterans may be training Russians to fight in Ukraine.
Department of Home Affairs officials confirmed earlier this year that they were not keeping track of how many Australians were serving with foreign militaries.
Greens senator David Shoebridge introduced an amendment calling for a question on foreign military service to be added to the passenger declaration card that travellers must fill in when they arrive in Australia.
Travellers would have been asked whether they had been a member of a foreign military in the past 12 months and, if so, which militaries.
Labor senators voted against the bill while Coalition and One Nation senators left the chamber before the vote, leaving only the Greens and independent senator David Pocock voting in favour.
“You already have to declare your criminal history, if you visited a farm or went on a hike, so adding if you fought in a foreign war doesn’t seem a stretch,” Shoebridge said.
“The fact that Labor voted against this, and One Nation ran out of the room when the vote happened, is beyond belief.”
Shoebridge said it was extraordinary that the government was not tracking citizens serving in overseas conflicts.
“Of course the Australian government should know if someone coming to Australia has been fighting for the Russian armed forces, the Israeli military or the Myanmar army,” he said.
“Pick any country you want – Sudan, Israel, Russia – there is good reason to have an idea about if Australians or other people in Australia are members of a foreign military, the same way we ask a series of other questions when you enter.
“If we don’t start tracking these sort of things, we seriously risk being a haven for people who have committed war crimes.”
Chris Barrie, who served as chief of the defence force from 1998 to 2002, said earlier this year he found it “very disturbing” that Australians were allowed to travel overseas to fight for Russia in Ukraine or Israel in Lebanon and Gaza.
The government should “at least” be keeping track of Australians serving in foreign militaries, he told this masthead.
“I am concerned we don’t have a good picture of who’s doing what,” he said.
At least 502 Australian-Israeli dual nationals are enrolled in the Israeli military, according to information obtained by the Israeli non-government organisation Hatzlacha through freedom of information laws.
The criminal code states that it is illegal to “enter a foreign country with an intention to engage in a hostile activity, unless serving in or with the armed forces of the government of a foreign country”.
Australians with sensitive defence knowledge must seek permission to work for, or provide training to, foreign militaries, under laws passed in 2024.
The London Telegraph reported on Thursday that an assessment compiled for Five Eyes intelligence agencies found, with “strong confidence”, that Western military veterans had been recruited to train Russian citizens as well as “active duty military” personnel.
A memo compiled for the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the nation’s foreign spy agency, stated that two former Australian special forces operatives and an active-duty reservist said they were approached to become instructors at training camps in Bulgaria and Serbia that allegedly hosted Russian clients.
Several SAS sources disputed claims that veterans from the elite regiment had been used, saying such actions would betray their values.
A defence spokesperson said: “In 2024, Australia passed amendments to the Defence Act 1903 requiring individuals to assess their need for a foreign work authorisation before working for, or training, a foreign military organisation or government body.
“Australian Defence Force personnel, including former members, remain subject to these amendments, the Safeguarding Australia’s Military Secrets legislation and Defence service obligations.”
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Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X, Facebook or email.From our partners
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