The ''National Service Act 1964'' (Cth) is a repealed amendment of the

Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governo ...

, passed on 24 November 1964. It amended the

National Service Act 1951 The National Service Act 1951 is a repealed Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. It provided for the compulsory call-up of males turning 18 on or after 1 November 1950, for service training of 176 days. Trainees were require ...

to require 20-year-old males to serve in the Army for a period of twenty-four months of continuous service (reduced to eighteen months in 1971) followed by three years in the Reserve. The Defence Act 1965 amended the

Defence Act 1903 The ''Defence Act 1903'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, that acquired royal assent on 22 October 1903. It was created to allow for the naval and military defence of Australia. The Act was amended and expan ...

in May 1965 to provide that conscripts could be obliged to serve overseas, and in March 1966 Prime Minister

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until Disappearance of Harold Holt, his disappearance and presumed death in 1967. He held o ...

announced that National Servicemen would be sent to Vietnam to fight in units of the Australian Regular Army.

Background

On 5 November 1964, Cabinet decided to introduce a compulsory selective National Service scheme. In announcing this decision to Parliament, Prime Minister

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

referred to 'aggressive

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

', 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. The

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

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.

Provisions

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.

Reaction

Then

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

and

Leader of the Australian Labor Party The leader of the Australian Labor Party is the highest political office within the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP). Leaders of the party are chosen from among the sitting members of the parliamentary caucus either by members alone or wi ...

Arthur Calwell Arthur Augustus Calwell King's Counsel, KC (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party, Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party through three federal elections, l ...

, called the scheme the 'lottery of death'.

Legacy

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 Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Whitlam government The Whitlam government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party. The government commenced when Labor defeated the McMahon government at the 1972 Australian federal elect ...

in December 1972.

References

Citations

{{Reflist

Notes

Acts of the Parliament of Australia Conscription in Australia 1964 in Australian law Conscription law