The Australian Defence Force has struggled to recruit sufficient personnel to meet its growing needs. Although it is difficult to predict how Australians would react in the event the country came under military attack, in response to a new question this year, half the adult population (52%) say they would be willing to fight to defend Australia if they were physically capable of doing so. One-quarter (24%) say they would not, while the remainder (25%) say they don’t know or are not sure.

Preparedness to fight for Australia is significantly higher among males (62%) than females (41%), and lower among people aged under 45 (37%) than people aged 45 and over (65%). Of the male population, about half (48%) aged under 45 say they would fight to defend Australia, while a significantly higher proportion of males aged over 45 (74%) would do so.

Willingness to defend Australia