About the ADF Families Survey

Families play a critical role in the wellbeing of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members, and often make sacrifices to support the Defence service. The ADF Families Survey is the primary Australian survey capturing information about experiences of service life directly from families of Defence personnel.

A joint initiative of the Department of Defence and Defence Families of Australia, the survey has been undertaken five times since 2009. AIFS was engaged to implement the survey in 2022 in partnership with Defence.

Like previous surveys, the 2022 survey collected information on family circumstances and experiences of service life, and support and service needs. There was also a specific focus on measuring family member well-being and understanding the impact of COVID-19 on ADF families. The survey ran from 30 May to 24 July 2022.

Thank you to all ADF members and families who shared their experiences with us!

The information you provided was summarised and provided in a report to Defence leaders and Defence family support organisations to enhance the support provided to you and your family.

Insights from the survey will be shared with stakeholders and through a range of Defence and family forums and potentially inform the design and delivery of policies, programs and services for military families.

The research was approved by the Departments of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee (protocol number 425-22).

Learn more about previous surveys

The most recent survey in the series ran in 2019. Research findings from previous surveys can be found at: ADF Families Survey | Defence Member & Family Support.

Contact us

Contact us for more information about the survey at [email protected].