LGBTQ+ soldiers now able to wipe historical convictions of homosexual activity from service records
The military has become Australia's last jurisdiction to let LGBTQ people extinguish convictions for homosexual activities.
Gay and lesbian soldiers and veterans can now apply to have convictions for homosexual activity wiped from their service records.
They are the last tranche of LGBTQ Australians to be given the right to seek justice on the matter.
An apology will also be issued for the discrimination of LGBTQ defence force personnel by the federal government later in 2026, as part of the changes announced on Tuesday.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Ex-soldiers who feel they were moved around or discharged due to discriminatory policies can now ask the military to review those actions and amend their record.
Family members, representatives and those with a special interest in the conviction of veterans now deceased can apply on their kin’s behalf.
“This is about really providing them with justice,” Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh told ABC radio on Tuesday.
“That was a different standard in a different time, and so allowing them to have their records updated as to the reason why they chose to leave defence or were forced out ... (they) have been waiting too long.”
The update follows amendments made to military law during federal parliament’s last sitting in September.
It came more than 30 years after the Commonwealth stopped being able to prosecute soldiers for consensual homosexual activities, in 1992.
The change was green-lit by Cabinet after then Labor Attorney-General Michael Duffy challenged the defence force’s policy on the grounds it meant Australia was violating international law.
That reform was followed in 2005 by the defence force recognising same-sex partners in de facto relationships, then in 2010 with the removal of transgender restrictions and in 2013 by soldiers being given permission to march in uniform at Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Incomplete records show at least 489 men and 165 women across the military were investigated for homosexual activities between 1953 and 1992, although this doesn’t include lost and destroyed records from the Air Force in particular.
