Overview

On 12 March 1991, all members of the Australian Defence Force serving on full-time duty participated in a census, the aim of which was to develop an authoritative and credible database and profile of ADF members and their families that would assist in developing appropriate policies for ADF family support service delivery and improve access to community facilities. This document is a report to ADF members and their families, and provides an overview of the initial results of the Census. Data provided include a profile of serving members; information about partners and partnerships, including gender, age, partners' employment, removals and service-related separations, breaking up; an overview of children at home, with a focus on special medical needs, education, and child care; and extended family members.

Foreword

On 12 March 1991 all members of the ADF serving on full-time duty participated in the first census ever conducted of all serving members and their families. As the sponsor for this project on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Force, one of my prime objectives is to provide timely feedback on the results of the Census to members and their families who cooperated so magnificently to ensure success of this activity.

Our aim in conducting the Census was to develop an authoritative and credible database and profile of ADF members and their families that would assist in developing appropriate policies for ADF family support service delivery and improve access to community facilities.

I am pleased to report that the overall high response rate to the Census Questionnaire has ensured that the ADF families database will prove a valuable and highly credible tool in advancing the ADF's case across the full spectrum of conditions of service and family support issues; in particular, it will ensure that our limited resources are directed to those areas of most need.

This report to ADF members and their families provides an overview of the initial results of the Census. As a snapshot in time it provides an interesting and revealing profile of the ADF corporate family.

The initial results of the Census outlined in this report indicate that there are specific areas of need that require further detailed study. These areas will be addressed in follow-on studies that will involve survey and interview techniques to define precise problem areas.

Information derived from a Census such as we have just conducted becomes degraded over a period of time and its validity as a planning tool is diminished. As a result, we tentatively plan to conduct another Census in 1995 to update the database thus ensuring its continued credibility as a planning tool.

I take this opportunity to thank you all for participating in the Census and thus making a positive contribution to improving conditions for all of us and our families.

GW Neil 
Air Vice-Marshal 
Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Personnel)

Introduction

There were 69,275 serving members on active duty with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) on 12 March 1991.

Over half (53.1%) were either married and cohabiting with their spouses or were in de facto relationships recognised by the Defence Force for purposes of allowances and entitlements.

A further 5.4% were in de facto relationships not ADF-recognised. Slightly over thirteen per cent (13.1%) of serving members' partners were also in the Defence Force. The remaining 35,216 partners were not.

55,238 children of serving members and/or their partners were living at home. In addition, 680 other children and 2599 other relatives were living with ADF members.

Altogether, on 12 March 1991 there were more than 160,000 members of the Australian Defence Force 'family'.

The Census

During the second half of 1990 the Defence Force, following examination of competitive tenders, commissioned the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AlFS) to carry out the first ADF families census. Working in close consultation with a Steering Committee represent- ing each of the Services and Headquarters ADF, a fourteen-page self-completion, machine-readable census form was developed and pre-tested on ADF members in Canberra, Melbourne and HMAS Cerberus.

Dissemination and collection of census forms was the responsibility of the individual Services. Serving members were required to collect a census form and confidentiality envelope and to return the envelope sealed with the census form inside.

In the event, some 58,627 valid (ie. non-blank) census forms, or 85% of those issued, were returned. Data analysis employs standard weighting procedures to discount under enumeration and differential response rates between the Services. Percentages discussed in this and other census reports, therefore, reflect ADF-wide proportions.

Conclusion

This first census of Australian Defence Force members and their families has resulted in the development of a Families Data Base. This database will be a valuable tool for developing future family support strategies and service delivery arrangements. It will also ensure that the limited ADF resources available for family support are directed to areas of greatest need. The data will also be of assistance to ADF policymakers who are involved in reviewing and developing conditions of service for single members of the ADF.

The successful conduct of the ADF 1991 Families Census has ensured that facts and figures are now available to allow us for the first time to draw a reliable picture of the Defence Force 'family'.