ADF members undergoing employment training of 12 months or more will now receive a $5,390 increase, bringing their annual salary to $37,109.
Added to salary is also a new $8,000 per annum trainee allowance that recognises the extra demands placed on personnel undergoing training in a military environment.
Announcing these increases, Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon said one of the biggest challenges currently facing the ADF was recruiting the right people with the right skills.
To meet that challenge, he said, the ADF needed to have an attractive remuneration package.
The increased trainee pay and the new allowance followed a Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal determination that will begin with effect from 8 January 2009.
Once qualified, trainees progress to the new pay structure for enlisted ADF members that has been designed to better reward skills and qualifications.
They also become eligible for a $10,672 Service Allowance, which is paid in addition to salary and replaces the trainee allowance upon graduation.