Public Attitudes towards the Australian Defence Force

How do Australians view the Australian Defence Force (ADF), how much do they know about its activities, and what are public attitudes on issues such as recent ADF operations and the treatment of veterans? These are all questions that this survey seeks to answer.  Given the sustained and growing importance of defence for Australia, one would expect there to be a wide variety of detailed data on what Australians think about these issues.

Through exploring how the public thinks about the ADF across these four areas, the report sheds significant light on attitudes towards one of the most important institutions in Australia and provides detail to inform the growing public debate on defence. The data from the survey also provides evidence to inform policy decisions, which are frequently predicated on a certain set of beliefs about how the Australian public views the ADF. In many cases this evidence confirms those assumptions, but in places it challenges us to think again about the preconceived ideas that have become established in the policymaking and academic communities in Canberra and beyond.

Report key findings

• Overall, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) was highly regarded by respondents to the survey. Strong majorities held positive opinions of the organisation, and expressed both trust in it as an institution, and trust that it would act ethically. The willingness of respondents to recommend service in the ADF was, however, significantly lower.
• Across all the topics covered by the survey it was apparent that public knowledge of the ADF as an institution, and of the activities it conducts, was very limited. There were also clear signs of a positive correlation between knowledge of the ADF and trust in it.
• Despite consistent indications of Australia’s declining strategic situation, support for an expansion of the ADF, and a growth of defence funding to pay for it, was limite
• The survey revealed that public support for the ADF to engage in humanitarian and disaster relief operations both within Australia, and in the wider region, was high.
• Sentiments regarding whether the ADF should prioritise working with allies to ensure wider security, or should focus on the defence of Australian territory, were complex and defy easy characterisation.
• Knowledge of Australian operations as part of the war in Afghanistan was comparatively low, as was awareness of issues stemming from those deployments, including the accusations of war crimes. Despite this, the data suggests that the accusations have negatively impacted trust in the ADF.
• The survey results suggest that public awareness of veterans and veterans’ issues is low, and respondents were divided on the question of whether the government did a good job of supporting veterans. Over half of respondents had not heard of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, however there was strong support for the establishment of a new agency focused on veterans’ welfare.

Authors: Richard Dunley, Tristan Moss, Nicole Townsend, Miranda Booth, Rhys Crawley, Margaret Hutchison & Tom Richardson