Editing Australian Defence Force (section)

===East Timor deployment===
[[File:Australian C-130 H being unloaded at Tallil Air Base in April 2003.jpeg|thumb|alt=Rear view of a propeller-driven plane on the ground with its cargo door open and propellers still spinning|A RAAF C-130 Hercules being unloaded at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, during April 2003]]

In 1996, [[John Howard]] led the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party's]] election campaign and became prime minister. Subsequently, there were significant reforms to the ADF's force structure and role. The new government's defence strategy placed less emphasis on defending Australia from direct attack and greater emphasis on working in co-operation with regional states and [[Foreign relations of Australia|Australia's allies]] to manage potential security threats.{{sfn|Horner|2001|pp=95–96}} From 1997 the Government also implemented a series of changes to the ADF's force structure to increase the proportion of combat units to support units and improve the ADF's combat effectiveness.{{sfn|Horner|2001|pp=93–95}}

The ADF's experiences during the [[International Force for East Timor|deployment to East Timor in 1999]] led to significant changes in Australia's defence policies and, an enhancement of the ADF's ability to conduct operations outside Australia. This successful deployment was the first time a large ADF force had operated outside of Australia since the Vietnam War and revealed shortcomings in its ability to mount and sustain such operations.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jenny |last=Sinclair |title=Operation Chaos |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/19/1037490107525.html |work=[[The Age]] |date=19 December 2002 |access-date=6 July 2007 |archive-date=29 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429222024/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/19/1037490107525.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2000, the Government released a new Defence White Paper, ''Defence 2000&nbsp;– Our Future Defence Force'', that placed a greater emphasis on preparing the ADF for overseas deployments. The Government committed to improve the ADF's capabilities by improving the readiness and equipment of ADF units, expanding the ADF and increasing [[Real versus nominal value (economics)|real]] Defence expenditure by 3% per year;{{sfn|Thomson|2005|p=11}} in the event, expenditure increased by 2.3% per annum in real terms in the period to 2012–13.{{sfn|Thomson|2012|p=25}} In 2003 and 2005, the ''Defence Updates'' emphasised this focus on expeditionary operations and led to an expansion and modernisation of the ADF.{{sfn|Thomson|2006|pp=7–8}}