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Appendix G – After Hours Supervision – the Academy Duty Officer System

Formal arrangements for ‘after hours’ staff supervision at ADFA are set out in Chapter 5 the Academy Standing Orders (ASOs). This outlines the Academy Duty Officer System. ADFA advises that other staff are called in as required to deal with issues as they arise. For example, there is a duty padre and a duty psych that are always available by phone, and the DO, DSNCO or OC are called in to ADFA if needed.[495]

The ASO 5.1 provides for Duty personnel at ADFA as follows:

  • Academy Duty Officer (ADO) – SGT (E) to CAPT (E) who has completed basic officer training or the ADFA ADO qualifying course. Drawn from CI staff and Advanced Students;
  • XOs Duty Officer (XDO) – SGT (E) to CAPT (E) from XO CADETS staff, stood up in periods when the cadet body is at ADFA or on command by XO CADETS;
  • Duty Officer Cadet (DOC) – Third year cadet; and
  • Assistant Duty Officer Cadet (ADOC) – Second year cadet.
  • Division Duty Orderlies (DDO) – a cadet from each division.

The XDO (one of the duty officers at ADFA – located within the cadet accommodation area) was introduced in 2010. Prior to this there was only the Duty Officer and Duty NCO for the entire Academy. As of 2010 there are two duty officers (one focussed on cadets) and one focused on the remainder of ADFA/Security/closure of buildings.

The ‘Academy Duty Officer’ (ADO) acts as the Commandant’s ‘after hours representative’. The ADO is responsible for the security and administration of ADFA outside normal working hours. ‘Advanced students’ are defined in the ASOs as ‘Midshipmen and Officer Cadet graduates of the Academy undertaking honours studies or fourth year engineering, and Officers, SNCOs, and Senior Sailors undertaking undergraduate or post graduate studies’.

The ADO is not responsible for managing cadets after hours in regard to their living arrangements.

The ‘Executive Officer Cadets Duty Officer’ (XDO) is responsible for the security, discipline and ‘wellbeing and welfare of the cadet body’ of the cadet body. This includes responsibility for:

  • the conduct of disciplinary punishments;
  • routine monitoring of behaviour, standards and adherence to leave policies; and
  • providing an initial point of contact for ‘cadets under stress’ and for cadet emergencies or other emergencies related to the accommodation.[496]

Location of Duty Staff

The ASOs provide that duty staff are ‘primarily required to conduct their duties from the Academy Duty Room, located in the foyer of the Military Building’. Advice from ADFA is that the ADO office is located in the reception building at ADFA, and the XDO office is located within the cadet accommodation area.[497] The ASOs provide as follows:

  1. ADO. Occasions may arise where the ADO is required to move to other locations, both within the Academy precinct and the wider Canberra area, in order to conduct their duties. When absent from the Military Building, the ADO is to ensure that the XDO is aware of their location at all times. In addition to this, the ADO is to carry the charged mobile telephone, which can be found in the Duty Room. The ADO should only leave the Academy precinct if it is essential to do so in order to complete their duties.
  2. XDO. The XDO is responsible for the maintenance of discipline and behaviour of midshipmen and cadets outside normal working hours. The XDO is also responsible for the security of the cadet body. The XDO is not permitted to leave the Academy precinct unless authorised by the office of the XO CADETS. The XDO is to mount duty from the after hours duty room in Bld 64.

The ADO and XDO also oversee the Cadet Duty Officer system, which is comprised of a Duty Officer Cadet (DOC) (a third year cadet who assists the ADO) and Assistant Duty Officer Cadet (a second year cadet).

The ASOs also provide for ‘Divisional Duty Orderlies’ who are a cadet from each division given the responsibility of reporting to the XDO all ‘significant after hours matters pertaining to the cadet body’, and have an informal role in monitoring the behaviour standards and wellbeing of the Division.

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[495] LTCOL N Fox, Email to Review, 22 August 2011.

[496] ‘110822 Broderick Review – Presentation – ASO and Duty System’, provided to the Review by LTCOL N Fox, 22 August 2011.

[497] LTCOL N Fox, Email to Review, 22 August 2011.