National Service Act 1964

On 5 November 1964, Cabinet decided to introduce a compulsory selective National Service scheme. In announcing this decision to Parliament, Prime Minister Robert Menzies referred to 'aggressive Communism', developments in Asia such as 'recent Indonesian policies and actions' and a 'deterioration in our strategic position' as being influential in the decision being reached (see Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 25th Parliament, 1st Session, pp. 2517–2724). The Government had concluded that Australia had inadequate defence manpower and aimed to increase the strength of the Army to 33,000 by the end of 1966 by introducing national service.[1]

Sections 5–9 deal with the amendments to registration. Sections 10–14 and 16 deal with the liability to serve, with sections 15, 17 and 18 accommodating the conscript's civilian employment.[2]

The then-serving Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Australian Labor Party, Arthur Calwell, called the scheme the 'lottery of death'.[3]

Between 1965 and December 1972, over 800,000 men registered for National Service, with some 63,000 conscripted and over 19,000 serving in Vietnam. Although registration was compulsory, a biannual process of selection by ballot determined who would be called up. The ballots selected several dates in the selected period and all males with corresponding birthdays were called up for national service. The ballot was conducted using a lottery barrel and marbles representing birthdays.

Conscription ended as one of the first acts of the newly elected Labor Whitlam government in December 1972.

• Conscription in Australia

• Scates, Bob (10 October 2022). "Draftmen go free : a history of the anti-Conscription Movement in Australia" Book review and excerpt. The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 5 November 2022.