Conscription, compulsory military service for young men, has been a contentious issue throughout Australia's history. The Defence Act 1903 was one of the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Commonwealth government, and it gave the government the power to conscript for the purposes of home defence.
The Size of the Defence Force and Army How Can Conscription be Introduced? Regular Army Capacity: the Training Load The need to deploy a substantial force to East Timor has placed unanticipated stresses on the Australian Regular Army.
The Vietnam War was the longest conflict in which Australians have been involved; it lasted ten years, from 1962 to 1972, and involved some 60,000 personnel. A limited initial commitment of just 30 military advisers grew to include a battalion in 1965 and finally, in 1966, a task force.