Between 1 January 1985 and 31 December 2019, 274,000 Australians had served at least one day in the ADF and subsequently separated. Of these, nearly 261,000 were still alive as of 31 December 2019 and almost 13,300 had died.
Table 2: Ex-serving members as of 31 December 2019
|
Ex-serving
|
Males
(Number)
|
Males
(Per cent)
|
Females
(Number)
|
Females
(Per cent)
|
Persons
(Number)
|
Persons
(Per cent
|
|
Living
|
219,411
|
94.7
|
41,213
|
97.9
|
260,624
|
95.2
|
|
Died(a)
|
12,362
|
5.3
|
902
|
2.1
|
13,264
|
4.8
|
|
Total ex-serving
|
231,773
|
100.0
|
42,115
|
100.0
|
273,888
|
100.0
|
(a) Includes all causes of death.
Source: AIHW analysis of linked Defence Historical Personnel data–PMKeyS–NDI data 1985–2019.
The remainder of this report presents more detailed analysis for ex-serving ADF members who were alive as of 31 December 2019.
The average age of ex-serving members was similar for both males and females at 50 years and 48 years respectively. Four in five (79%) were aged 40 years and over. There were higher proportions of males in the older age groups with 15% of males aged 65 years and over compared with 4.8% of females.
Source: AIHW analysis of linked Defence Historical Personnel data–PMKeyS–NDI data 1985–2019.
Explore this section: