Understanding the wellbeing characteristics of ex-serving ADF members

Majority of ex-serving ADF members were employed

ADF service provides secure and stable employment, and after separating from the ADF, many ex-serving ADF members aim to transition into the civilian workforce (Van Hooff et al. 2018). Skills learned in the ADF can include project management, IT, administration and logistics, which are also widely used in the civilian workforce. However, for veterans managing symptoms of poor mental health, transitioning to civilian life and employment outcomes can be challenging as these symptoms may affect their ability to secure and maintain employment (Palumbo, 2019). For these reasons, employment following separation from the ADF has been identified as an issue of particular importance among the veteran community (DVA 2015).

An individual’s labour force status is influenced by their choices and life circumstances as well as by broader conditions of the labour market. Three categories of labour force status have been explored in this report including employed (those who have a job), unemployed (those who do not have a job, but who are actively looking for one) and not in the labour force (those retired, those permanently unable to work, and those not looking for work) (ABS 2018).

Over three quarters of ex-serving ADF males and females (78% and 76% respectively) were employed in 2016, compared with 67% of Australian males and 57% of Australian females. After adjusting for age, ex-serving ADF females remained to be employed at a higher rate than Australian females, while ex-serving ADF males were employed at a similar rate to Australian males (Figure 4).

Female ex-serving ADF members were more likely to be working part-time (26%) than their male counterparts (10%), but at the same rate as Australian females. This pattern remained after adjusting for age.

Factors that were associated with an increased likelihood of ex-serving ADF members being employed in 2016 were:

• separating voluntarily from the ADF compared with separating involuntarily for medical reasons,
• serving 10 years or more compared with those who had served less than 1 year,
• being a Commissioned Officer at the time of separation from the ADF, 
• being male, and
• separating from the Air Force or Army compared with separating from the Navy.

Age was also statistically significant in predicting whether an ex-serving ADF member was employed in 2016. These results are similar to those from international studies involving Canadian veterans (MacLean et al. 2014) or British veterans (Iversen et al. 2005).

Ex-serving ADF males and females who separated from the ADF less than 1 year ago had lower proportions of being employed in 2016 (72% and 70% respectively), compared with 81% ex-serving males and 77% ex-serving females who separated between 5 and less than 10 years ago (from 31 December 2015).

Ex-serving ADF males and females aged 55 years and over had the lowest proportions of being employed in 2016 (50% and 55% respectively), compared with other ex-serving ADF members. However, for this age group, ex-serving ADF males and females had higher proportions of being employed compared to Australians of the same age (40% and 30% respectively). These findings are likely to be confounded by the lower proportion of older ex-serving ADF members in the linked data in MADIP.

In 2016, the proportions of ex-serving ADF members employed were relatively similar across the states and territories of Australia.

For ex-serving ADF males employed, the Public administration and safety industry was the most common industry of employment in all states and territories (ranging from 16% in Queensland to 48% in the Australian Capital Territory) except for Western Australia where Mining was the most common industry (17%). These figures were higher than the 7.0% of employed Australian males working in the Public administration and safety industry and 2.7% in the Mining industry.

For ex-serving ADF females employed, the Health care and social assistance industry was the most common industry of employment in all states and territories (ranging from 20% in Western Australian to 28% in South Australia) with the exception of the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory where being employed in the Public administration and safety industry was the most common (32% and 52% respectively). While the proportion of employed Australian females working in the Health care and social assistance industry was similar (22%), employed female Australians were less likely to be working in the Public administration and safety industry (6.7%).

Figure 4: Proportion of ex-serving ADF members employed in 2016, by service characteristics

Ex-serving ADF members experienced lower unemployment rates than the Australian population

A person’s wellbeing, mental and physical health, relationships and their families can be affected by not having a job or not enough work (Beyond Blue 2022). Transitioning from ADF service to civilian life can be challenging, with some having difficulty finding work or having their skills recognised to improve employability (AIHW 2021a). There are many initiatives and programs available to serving and ex-serving ADF members to support with their transition journey (Defence 2022).

In 2016, there were 4.0% ex-serving ADF males and 3.6% ex-serving ADF females who were unemployed, which was similar to Australian males (4.8%) and females (3.9%). Similar patterns were observed after adjusting for age.

The unemployment rate is the percentage of people in the labour force who are unemployed. The unemployment rate for ex-serving males was 4.9% and 4.5% for ex-serving females, compared to 6.6% for Australian males and 6.3% for Australian females in 2016.   

Factors that were associated with an increased likelihood of ex-serving ADF members being unemployed in 2016 were:

• being a rank other than Commissioned Officer at the time of separation from the ADF,
• separating involuntarily from the ADF (regardless for medical reasons or other reasons) compared with separating voluntarily,
• separating from the ADF more recently,
• serving for 5 years or less compared with those who had served 10 years or more,
• being male, and
• separating from the Navy compared with separating from the Air Force or Army.

While the modelling results showed that sex and all service characteristics are statistically significant in predicting whether an ex-serving ADF member was unemployed in 2016, age was not significant in predicting whether someone was unemployed. However, younger ex-serving ADF members aged 17 to 24 years had the highest unemployment rate at 9.5% for ex-serving males and 6.7% for ex-serving females in 2016 (Figure 5). Nevertheless, these unemployment rates were lower than those for Australians of the same age who experienced the highest unemployment rates in 2016 at 15% for Australian males and 12% for Australian females.

Those ex-serving ADF males and females who separated as Commissioned Officers experienced lower unemployment rates in 2016 (3.6% and 2.2% respectively) compared to those who separated at Other Ranks (5.2% and 5.1% respectively).

Those who separated from the ADF with less than 1 year of service experienced an unemployment rate of 7.1% for males and 6.4% for females in 2016, compared to those who served 10 years of more (4.0% and 3.4%).

Those who separated from the Air Force experienced the lowest unemployment rates in 2016 for both males (3.8%) and females (4.0%) compared to those who separated from the Army (5.1% for males and 4.1% for females) and Navy (5.4% for males and 5.8% for females).

Figure 5: Unemployment rates for ex-serving ADF members in 2016, by service characteristics

Not all ex-serving ADF members were in the labour force

There are many reasons for why a person may choose to not be in the labour force. This may be due to study commitments, household and caring responsibilities, retirement, or other reasons such as long-term ill-health. Others may want to be in the labour force and want to work, however they do not satisfy the criteria for being employed or unemployed (actively searching and available to start work) (ABS 2018).

In 2016, there were 11,000 (18%) ex-serving ADF males and 2,400 (20%) ex-serving ADF females who were not in the labour force, compared with 2.2 million (28%) Australian males and 3.3 million (39%) of Australian females respectively.

While similar proportions of ex-serving ADF members and the Australian population not in the labour force were observed for those aged between 25 to 54 years, differences occurred in the younger and older people. While those ex-serving ADF members who were aged 17 to 24 years and 55 years and over were less likely to be not in the labour force than those of the same age in the Australian population, it should be noted there are low numbers of ex-serving ADF members in these age groups in the data available.

The proportion of ex-serving ADF males and females being not in the labour force increased as length of service increased, ranging from 7.0% of ex-serving ADF males and 17% of ex-serving females with less than 1 year of service to 27% of ex-serving ADF males and 24% of ex-serving ADF females who separated with 10 or more years of service being not in the labour force in 2016 (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Not in the labour force rates for ex-serving ADF members in 2016, by service characteristics

Factors that were associated with an increased likelihood of ex-serving ADF members being not in the labour force in 2016 were:

• separating involuntarily from the ADF for medical reasons, 
• being female, 
• separated at a rank other than Commissioned Officer, and
• separating from the Navy, compared with separating from the Air Force or Army.

Age and the number of years since they left service were also statistically significant in predicting whether an ex-serving ADF member was not in the labour force in 2016. The odds of being not in the labour force increased with age.