The Australian Government has agreed to formally apologise to LGBTQ+ Defence personnel and veterans who were harmed by historic discrimination — but advocates say acknowledgement should also be accompanied by financial redress.
The commitment was confirmed as Parliament considered military justice reforms stemming from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
For decades, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the Australian Defence Force could face investigation, discharge, pressure to resign or other disciplinary and administrative action because of their sexuality or gender identity.
The government has now agreed that those harms should be formally acknowledged.
It will also allow affected veterans to have Defence records annotated where their separation or treatment arose from policies that would not constitute an offence or breach current ADF policy today.
Recognition Extends Beyond Criminal Convictions
The announcement is particularly significant for veterans who were never formally convicted of an offence.
Earlier discussions around historical injustice had focused heavily on extinguishing convictions for old homosexual service offences.
But many LGBTQ+ personnel were pushed out through administrative processes instead.
David Gibson, chair of GLBTI Rights in Ageing and a former Army officer who was discharged because of his sexuality, told the Senate inquiry that failing to recognise those people risked creating another group of forgotten veterans.
“If we recognised the convictions but not the people dealt with administratively, we risked creating another group of forgotten veterans,” Gibson said.
“That distinction matters. Some people were convicted. Some were discharged. Some were pressured to leave.”
“Whatever the mechanism, the message they received was the same: there was no place for them in the Defence Force because of who they were.”
The Senate committee ultimately recommended that historical Defence records be annotated, affected personnel receive recognition of their service and the Australian Government issue a formal apology.
The government has accepted those recommendations.
What Recognition Will Veterans Receive?
The Senate committee had specifically called for a Certificate of Honourable Service for personnel affected by discriminatory policies.
The government’s response takes a slightly different approach.
Defence says certificates of service are already available on request and that records can be amended to reflect the “no-fault” nature of a veteran’s separation.
That distinction may sound technical, but for veterans whose careers ended under a cloud of shame or alleged misconduct, correcting the official record can carry considerable personal importance.
Gibson has welcomed the apology commitment, while arguing it needs to be delivered at the highest level.
He wants Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make the apology personally.
“It needs to say plainly: you served Australia, what was done to you was wrong, and we are sorry,” Gibson said.
The government has not yet publicly confirmed who will deliver the apology or when it will take place.
Advocates Continue To Push For Financial Redress
One major issue remains unresolved: compensation.
The Senate committee stopped short of recommending a financial redress scheme, despite advocacy from LGBTQ+ veterans and community groups.
The government has also not committed to one.
Just.Equal Australia spokesperson Rodney Croome said an apology would represent an important acknowledgement, but argued financial redress should recognise the material consequences of discrimination.
“LGBTIQA+ veterans who faced discrimination, including dishonourable discharge, suffered the loss of employment, income and sometimes housing, a loss of self-confidence and sometimes severe impacts on mental health,” Croome said.
Greens LGBTQ+ spokesperson Senator Nick McKim has made a similar argument, calling for an inquiry to determine what form compensation could take.
“Financial redress cannot undo that harm, but it would provide a tangible acknowledgement of the injustices that were inflicted,” McKim said.
He pointed to compensation programmes established in Canada and the United Kingdom for LGBTQ+ former military personnel.
The Australian Government has not indicated that it plans to introduce a comparable scheme.
Decades Of Discrimination Finally Acknowledged
Australia removed its formal ban on gay and lesbian people serving openly in the Defence Force in 1992.
Before then, personnel could be investigated about their private lives, interrogated about other suspected LGBTQ+ colleagues, lose security clearances or be forced out of military careers.
Some were dealt with through criminal proceedings, while others were removed using administrative, medical or disciplinary mechanisms.
The latest reforms are designed to recognise both groups.
For veterans who spent decades carrying records suggesting they had somehow failed the Defence Force, the formal acknowledgement marks a significant change in how that history is recorded.
The next debate is likely to centre on whether recognition should extend beyond an apology and corrected records to financial compensation for the tangible losses those policies caused.
