The Royal Australian Navy is paying for women sailors to have breast enlargements for purely cosmetic reasons, at a cost to taxpayers of $10,000 an operation.
Defence officials claim the surgery is justified because some servicewomen need bigger breasts to address "psychological issues".
Darling Point plastic surgeon Kourosh Tavakoli said that the navy had paid for two officers, aged 25 and 32, to have breast-augmentation surgery at his private clinic.
Dr Tavakoli said the women had not been injured but claimed to suffer "psychological" problems.
A Defence spokesman admitted cosmetic surgery occurred at "public expense" when there were "compelling psychological/psychiatric reasons", but refused to say how many such cases were taxpayer-funded.
"Cosmetic procedures undertaken solely for the purpose of preserving or improving a person's subjective appearance will be considered only if the underlying (psychological) problem is causing difficulties that adversely impact on the member's ability to do their job. Operations purely for cosmetic reasons are not allowed."
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