Overview
- On Thursday August 20 the federal cabinet approved draft bills and the National Assembly then voted to approve the Defence Forces Act 2026 and amendments to the National Command Authority Act 2010, completing the legislative step needed to put the 27th Constitutional Amendment into statute.
- The Defence Forces Act frames the office of the Chief of Defence Forces and the CDF Headquarters, spelling out how the new command will be organised and how the CDF’s term and duties will be set by the federal government.
- Under the constitutional changes implemented by the bills, the army chief now also serves as the Chief of Defence Forces, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee post is to be abolished, and a new four‑star Commander National Strategic Command has been created with appointments already made to the post.
- The draft and enacted provisions concentrate appointment and reappointment authority with the prime minister on the CDF’s recommendation, include language that bars court challenges to those appointments, and exempt the National Strategic Command commander from ordinary service‑law retirement and removal rules.
- With Parliament’s approval finalising the legal framework, lawmakers and officials will next process parallel amendments to Army, Navy and Air Force service laws, and observers should watch for how the changes affect tenure, oversight and civilian control of military appointments.