08/12/2025
The Changing Face of the Australian Veteran
By Eamon Hale
Most Australians still hold a fixed idea of what a “veteran” looks like. ANZAC Day parades and dawn services tend to conjure images of elderly men in blazers and medals. But the veterans of the 2020s are far more likely to be in their 30s or 40s – and unprecedented numbers of them are women.
Today’s veterans – many of whom feel uncomfortable with the word “veteran” itself – are quiet professionals. They volunteered to serve in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), rather than being conscripted, and work across an extraordinary range of roles both at home and overseas. They are the most deployed generation since the Second World War, and there are far more of them in the Australian community than most people realise.
Our oldest veterans, now over 100, served in the 1940s and 1950s. They are the “diggers” who largely shape the public imagination. Yet since the Vietnam War, the face of the Australian veteran has changed dramatically, as has the definition of a veteran itself. Once limited to those who served overseas in wartime, the definition now includes anyone who is serving or has served in the ADF. Whether they have deployed or not, they are veterans.
This broader definition, combined with an unprecedented tempo of operations, has transformed the size and profile of Australia’s veteran community.
*The most active generation since the Second World War*
The past thirty years have been among the busiest in our military history. Australia has produced more new veterans since the early 1990s than at any time since 1945. Around 1,500 Australians served in Somalia, 3,500 in Bougainville, more than 40,000 in East Timor, 17,000 in Iraq, and 7,000 in the Solomon Islands, including many Reservists. Some 30,000 served in Afghanistan across twenty years of war. Most have now returned to civilian life, quietly living and working among us.
These deployments have been difficult, often dangerous, and have pushed our men and women to their limits. While casualty numbers are smaller than in previous wars, they remain significant for the size of the forces deployed.
By comparison, 50,000 Australians served in Vietnam, with 500 killed. The youngest of them are now in their mid-70s. Many were volunteers, but they served alongside the 280,000 young Australian men called up for two years of National Service – around 18,000 of whom went to Vietnam.
Since the end of conscription in 1972, every person who has served in the ADF has done so voluntarily. This new generation is composed entirely of professional servicemen and servicewomen who signed on for a minimum of four years and often deployed repeatedly.
*Women and younger veterans leading the change*
Historically the Australian veteran was almost always male. Today, women make up a large and growing part of the veteran community, particularly among those under 50. Many have volunteered to serve on demanding operations and have played central roles across the ADF.
Yet the leadership of the veteran community remains overwhelmingly male and aged over 70. Much of it is still shaped by the Vietnam-era generation – many of whom were conscripts whose experience and priorities differ markedly from the younger, voluntary, and highly deployed cohort. This generational mismatch often leads to a lack of understanding, representation, and unity.
Younger veterans are primarily concerned with issues such as the veteran su***de epidemic, transition support (education, employment, medical care), and the pay and conditions of those still serving. They are building families and careers, and many feel they have little in common with the existing leadership structures of ex-service organisations such as the RSL.
One issue, however, unites all generations: deep frustration with the ongoing failings of the federal Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
*A public perception lagging behind reality*
Australia rightly cares for its elderly veterans, and the public recognition they receive is well deserved. But there must also be a broader awareness that today’s veteran is not, in the main, an older man. The younger generation now needs recognition, support, and encouragement.
Many misconceptions born in the aftermath of Vietnam still linger. Most veterans are not broken, dangerous, or defined by trauma. The vast majority are not riddled with PTSD. They are ordinary people who have done extraordinary things; resilient, capable, and committed Australians who continue to contribute positively to their communities.
The Australian veteran has changed profoundly over the past thirty years. It is time our understanding changed with them.
- Eamon Hale is the Vice President of Hawthorn RSL, and a current member of the Victoria State Executive. He is married to Celia and a proud dad to Elizabeth and George
