Is your partner about to deploy?

Have you heard about ForceNet?

ForceNet is now available to families

For many years DFA has been listening to families about the importance of good communications between Defence and families.

Earlier this year, ForceNet for Families was launched.

ForceNet for families is a direct link to your Defence member’s ship/unit.

ForceNet is a secure way for you to received accurate information directly from your ADF family member’s unit.

To get started with ForceNet go to forcenet.gov.au and register. Your Defence partner/family member will be sent an email and will need to authorise your access for security purposes. Each Defence member can have up to 3 family members authorised. This includes parents of Defence members.

If your partner is coming home early, this will be the best way to be updated.

If there’s news, this will be the best way to stay updated.

A great example of where ForceNet for Families would have been invaluable were the recent floods in Townsville. During this unprecedented event accurate communications was sometimes a challenge. In a future event like this, ForceNet will be the authoritative source for accurate information from Defence.

You can access ForceNet via an app or via your computer desktop. 

Here’s the official word from Defence on ForceNet for families. 

Recognising the need to improve communication with families of Australian Defence Force (ADF) Members, Defence has broadened the ForceNet e-communications platform to allow Defence family users to connect with Defence leadership and other ForceNet users within secure online communities.

Currently, ADF families connect through multiple community and social media groups with information provided by multiple sources. ForceNet provides a single access point for Defence to communicate with registered Defence family members. This will reduce the time and effort Defence families spend searching for information from Defence and support agencies, such as Defence Community Organisation and Defence Families of Australia, in disparate locations and maximise the support they receive.

Head People Capability, Major General Natasha Fox acknowledges that service in the ADF places unique demands on Defence members and their families and that the nature of Service life and the commitment required may impose restrictions, pressures and difficulties on families not generally encountered in the civilian community.

“We (Defence) recognise the need for an effective and secure communications platform to provide a vehicle for ADF leaders, members and their families to connect and share information,” MAJGEN Fox said.   

“ForceNet enables Commanders and support agencies to connect with registered family members and provide them with an authoritative source of information as well as a channel for discussions when appropriate,” she said.

Defence family members can register to use ForceNet at www.forcenet.gov.au or current Defence ForceNet users can invite a family member to register via their ForceNet Profile Page.

“ForceNet will support Defence families to participate in online communities to share information and maintain contact with other family users and Defence Leaders and is accessible from a range of IT devices such as desktop computer, tablet and mobile” said MAJGEN Fox.  

Family users will initially become members of the family groups of their sponsor’s parent Service and posted Unit. They will also automatically become members of the Defence Community Organisation and Defence Families of Australia groups. Family users may choose, or apply, to join additional groups according to their interests.

For more information, visit www.forcenet.gov.au or download the free ForceNet App from the App Store or Google Play.