The authority to impose a ROSO is provided in the Defence Act, 1990. Personnel subject to a ROSO have a statutory obligation to complete a prescribed period of service in fulfilment of that obligation. A ROSO is applied to protect NZDF’s investment in the skills and knowledge of its personnel and to facilitate the retention of trained Service members to maintain operational capability. The NZDF is currently investigating whether bonds may be a useful supplement to ROSOs for non-critical courses that are not of high cost.