15/02/2026
Impacts which are not readily considered.
🚨Please share and tag : Why aren’t we talking about the impact on cadets?
As Defence bases are sold across Australia, the public conversation keeps focusing on land values, housing supply and small counts of full-time roles.
What is almost entirely missing is the impact on Australian Defence Force Cadets.
Across Australia, more than 32,000 young people are currently enrolled in the Australian Defence Force Cadets, made up of:
👉19,000 Australian Army Cadets
👉9,500 Australian Air Force Cadets
👉2,600 Australian Navy Cadets
That is over 32,000 cadets, supported by thousands of volunteer adult staff, many of whom are veterans or current Reservists.
These are not symbolic programs.
Cadet units rely on Defence bases to function. Parade grounds, secure facilities, storage, accommodation blocks, ceremonial spaces and training areas cannot simply be replaced in the civilian environment.
Yet when bases are sold, cadets are rarely mentioned.
Media reporting often frames base closures as affecting “only a handful of full-time jobs”. That framing ignores Reserve soldiers who parade there, ignores cadet units that train there, and ignores the young people and volunteers who depend on those facilities week after week.
Here in South Australia alone, proposed closures or partial closures at Hampstead Barracks, Woodside Barracks and parts of Warradale Barracks will directly impact cadet units. At the same time, cadet units are already being displaced from Keswick Barracks following its sale by the state government.
These decisions affect thousands of cadets and volunteer staff in SA alone, within a volunteer-led organisation already stretched on capacity and morale.
Many cadets come from Defence families. Many volunteer staff are veterans. For Defence children, cadets often provide the one constant when families post interstate. A child can move states and step straight into a new unit with familiar structure, values and belonging. That continuity matters.
Cadets also provide ceremonial support to RSLs and communities on days of national significance. When units close or lose access to facilities, that support quietly disappears.
And once Defence land is sold, options are gone. Retaining Defence land preserves flexibility. Selling it narrows it.
‼️There is currently no independent public voice representing Australian Defence Force Cadets in this debate.
👉Serving officers cannot speak publicly.
👉Volunteers rarely have a platform.
👉Cadets themselves have none.
As an advocate for Defence children and families through Defence Kidz, this silence is impossible to ignore.
This is not just about heritage, though heritage matters.
It is about youth development, Defence capability, Reserve integration, community resilience and the future pipeline of service-minded Australians.
If we care about Defence capability, we must care about cadets.
If we care about Defence children, we must protect the structures that support them.
And if we are going to sell Defence bases, we must at least be honest about who is being impacted.
Because right now, over 32,000 young Australians are barely being mentioned at all.
🚨 Please share with your networks , please tag decision makers , friends , colleagues… because right now, over 32,000 young Australians are barely being mentioned at all.
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*I accept the AI isnt great. I couldn’t create an image as impactful nor did we have permission for cadet uniforms.
