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When the Australian Government began examining its past practice of expelling gay and lesbian people from the armed forces, Perth LGBTIQA+ rights activist Neil Buckley did not hesitate to share his views with MPs.
In 1992, the Keating Labor Government ended the prohibition on gay and lesbian Australians serving in the armed forces, placing Australia among the more progressive nations to allow open military service regardless of sexual orientation. Transgender Australians have also been able to serve openly since 2010.
Prior to these reforms, military authorities spent many years attempting to identify LGBTIQA+ personnel and discharge them from service.
The experiences of those affected came under scrutiny during the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which delivered its final report in 2024. A subsequent Senate inquiry received further testimony detailing the personal and professional impacts on individuals whose military careers were cut short because of these policies.
Buckley, who told OUTinPerth he grew up dreaming of joining the army, saw his military career end only a few years before the policy changed. In 1989, he was discharged from the army.
“Like many others affected by these policies, I entered military service wanting to serve my country with pride and commitment. Instead, my military career was cut short because of policies that are now widely recognised as unjust and discriminatory,” Buckley said in a submission to a recent Senate inquiry.
“I joined when I was seventeen,” he told OUTinPerth.
After enlisting, he completed training at Kapooka Army Base near Wagga Wagga before serving at Holsworthy Barracks in south-western Sydney.
“It was an adventure. It was great. I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed being in the army,” he said.
Buckley said his military career came to a sudden end after he was seen entering a gay bar.
“Questions were raised, so I thought, ‘Well, it’s time to get out.’ I would have liked to stay,” Buckley said.
He was sent to see a psychiatrist and, not long afterwards, received a standard discharge rather than an honourable discharge.
Re-entering civilian life presented challenges for the young soldier, who had become accustomed to the structured nature of military service, where food, accommodation and daily routines were largely arranged for him.
“I often wonder what my trajectory would have been if I had stayed in the army.”
The Government has now announced it will issue a formal apology for its past actions, and advocates are pushing for that apology to be delivered by the Prime Minister in the House of Representatives.
While the apology will carry significant historical and emotional weight, Buckley believes practical support is equally important.
“I suppose it is some recognition,” Buckley said of the announcement. “But it really doesn’t do anything. In my submission, I suggested that people should be able to access all the services available to former service personnel. We should be able to access the legal, medical and travel benefits that other veterans receive. That would acknowledge our participation.
“An apology is good, of course, but I think there’s not much meaning behind it.”
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA), the national peak body for LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing, has welcomed the Government’s announcement.
Chief executive Nicky Bath said the apology recognises both the injustice experienced by LGBTIQA+ veterans and the lasting impacts on their health and wellbeing.
“For many LGBTIQA+ veterans, the impacts of discrimination have been carried for decades, resulting in poorer mental health, social isolation and, for some, experiences of suicidality. A national apology is a powerful acknowledgement of these harms and validates these experiences,” Bath said.
Like Buckley, LHA is advocating for action that goes beyond symbolic recognition.
“Recognition of past wrongs is an important component of healing. This process also requires ongoing access to culturally safe mental health supports, peer connection, trauma-informed care and services that understand the unique experiences of LGBTIQA+ veterans,” Bath said.
LHA Executive Director of Programs, Learning and Capacity Terence Humphreys also called for increased support and noted that, although the policy changed decades ago, many people continue to live with the trauma of those experiences.
“Our understanding is that for people in the military, it becomes a big part of their lives. It is much more than a workplace. It is a place of social connection and support, and all those support systems can be lost very suddenly when someone leaves the Defence Force,” Humphreys said.
“We know that people have experienced discrimination and rejection over long periods of time, and just because laws have changed does not mean those feelings disappear. The experience of discrimination can remain for many years and have profound impacts on mental health and wellbeing, including suicidality, as reflected in the findings of the Royal Commission.”
While LHA fully supports the Government’s apology announcement, describing it as a “fantastic move”, the organisation says practical measures must follow.
“It really needs to be supported by ongoing practical assistance. Appropriate support services need to be available for people who want them. This is a broad group of people, including veterans and people currently serving,” Humphreys said.
LHA suggests one of the easiest next steps would be to review existing support services, ensure they are culturally safe and consider expanding access nationally while keeping them affordable.
Buckley said that while his military career ended abruptly after he was seen entering a gay bar, he knew only a handful of other gay people while serving and described the military as a “really closeted” environment.
After his discharge, he had an unforgettable experience when he visited The Barrel, a gay bar in Kings Cross.
“Here’s half the platoon sitting there, gays, chatting to each other,” he recalled.
“If I had known, I would have stayed in!”
