Currently the secretive Special Air Services regiment takes it members from other military units, but the officials said this was not providing the numbers of new recruits required.

Acting Defense Minister Donna Vale said direct recruiting was also being considered as part of plans to expand the new Special Operations Command (SOC), created in December.

Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defense Association, said the civilians would have to undergo extensive physical and mental training before being accepted into the SAS.

"The army is far too small for the jobs it's required to do and the SAS is increasingly required to do more and more with less and less," James said on public radio.

"What we're seeking to do is to attract people who would not normally join the army, but might join the SAS," he said.

About 150 SAS troops participated in the recent US-led war on Iraq, carrying out clandestine operations in the western Iraqi desert. They also took part in the war in Afghanistan and have reportedly carried out missions in East Timor.

The Australian defense forces have about 52,000 full-time members, though the exact number of troops in the SAS is not made public.

Detailed numbers and the growth plan of the SOC, announced in December last year, are also classified, a spokeswoman for Vale said.

But the SOC was expected to grow from 1,800 to 2,500 by January 2006, she said.

WAR.WIRE