Conscription

• At the start of WWII, the Australian government addressed conscription issues similarly to WWI by:

  • Encouraging voluntary enlistment in the AIF for overseas service.
  • Calling up the 80,000-strong Citizen Military Force (CMF) for domestic service.
  • Introducing compulsory three-month military training for single males aged 21.
• From 1941, the government mandated that all 18-year-old males register for potential defence roles against Japanese threats and began conscripting:

  • All men aged 18-25 and single men aged 35-45 years into the CMF from mid-1942, allowing service in Australian territories and Papua.
• By 1943, the government addressed:

  • The reality of Japanese bombing and potential invasion threats.
  • The weakened national fighting capability due to 20,000 Australians being POWs.
  • The fact that US conscripts were serving overseas, while Australian conscripts were not.
• Under the Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943, the government:

  • Expanded the conscription area to the South-Western Pacific Zone, including Japanese-occupied islands south of the equator.
  • Included women in conscription for auxiliary services.