David Gibson, Chair of GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc (GRAI), has been a leading advocate for legislation to expunge historical convictions for homosexual offences in the Australian armed forces.
In 2021, the Australian Government established the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. Its findings led to numerous recommendations on how the military and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs operate, and also informed proposed legislation aimed at addressing the experiences of thousands of service personnel who were forced out of the military because of their sexuality.
In recent years, several Australian states have expunged records relating to historical homosexuality offences, while Tasmania has introduced a compensation scheme for those affected. Legislation to expunge historical convictions for homosexual service offences among military personnel has now taken a significant step forward, with a Senate Committee endorsing key recommendations from GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc (GRAI).
The Committee adopted GRAI’s recommendations calling for Defence records to be annotated where historical actions arose from discriminatory policies, the creation of a Certificate of Honourable Service for affected LGBTI veterans, and a formal Australian Government apology to LGBTI personnel and veterans harmed by those policies.
As a former Army officer, Gibson said the recommendations represented an important acknowledgement that the discrimination experienced by thousands of LGBTI Australians in uniform was not an accident of history but the result of government policy.
“These LGBTI veterans didn’t fail their country. Their country failed them.
“Many volunteered to serve with pride, only to have their careers cut short because of who they loved. The Committee’s recommendations acknowledge that this wasn’t simply unfortunate; it was wrong. That’s an important step towards restoring the dignity they should never have lost,” Gibson said.
Although based in Perth, GRAI was one of the leading organisations in Australia raising awareness of the experiences of older LGBTI veterans during the inquiry.
Through community networks, media interviews and direct outreach, the organisation encouraged veterans from across the country to make their own submissions to the Senate.
GRAI said the majority of submissions addressing the Bill’s provisions relating to the historical treatment of LGBTI personnel came directly from LGBTI veterans and organisations representing them, ensuring Parliament heard first-hand accounts of the impacts these policies continue to have today.
“One of the things I’m most proud of is that so many veterans chose to tell their own stories.
“Our job wasn’t to speak for them. It was to make sure Parliament heard them,” Gibson said.
“We’re a small organisation based in Perth, but geography shouldn’t determine whether someone’s story is heard.
“If older LGBTI veterans felt no one else was asking the question, GRAI was happy to ask it. The fact that veterans from across Australia responded tells us this conversation was long overdue.”
While welcoming the Committee’s recommendations, GRAI said further work remained.
The organisation noted that many LGBTI veterans were never convicted of an offence but instead experienced administrative discharge, forced resignation, intrusive investigations, surveillance, or loss of security clearances because of discriminatory Defence policies. Those veterans remain outside the scope of the current legislation.
“Good public policy doesn’t stop at recognising a problem. It finishes the job.
“The Committee has done its work. It has listened carefully and made sensible recommendations. The question now is whether the Australian Government is prepared to act on them.
“If the Government accepts these recommendations, it will make a real difference to many veterans. But there are still people whose lives were changed through administrative action rather than criminal conviction. They deserve recognition too.”
Gibson said the inquiry also highlighted the importance of ensuring older LGBTI Australians continue to have a voice in shaping public policy.
“One of the privileges of leading GRAI is helping ensure that older LGBTI people aren’t forgotten.
“Whether it’s preserving our history through the Our Voices books or advocating for older veterans, the principle is the same. People deserve to be seen, to be heard and to know their experiences matter. History can’t be rewritten, but it can be acknowledged. That’s where healing begins,” Gibson said.
In an interview with The Guardian, Gibson shared his experience of serving in the Army during the 1980s, when homosexuality remained illegal in much of Australia.
He entered the military after high school and was posted to Townsville, where he said the Defence Force conducted what he described as “witch hunts” to identify homosexual personnel.
He said he still does not know how the military became aware that he was bisexual, but he was interrogated about his sexuality and superiors demanded that he name others he suspected might be gay, lesbian or bisexual.
In 1989, he was discharged and forced to seek a new career.
Just.Equal Australia disappointed by lack of redress recommendation
Just.Equal Australia says it is disappointed the inquiry did not endorse financial redress for former Australian service personnel discharged because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Just.Equal Australia spokesperson Rodney Croome said the committee could have gone further.
“We support the Committee’s recommendations as far as they go, but they should have gone further by endorsing financial redress.
“Comparable countries such as the UK and Canada provide financial redress for service personnel unjustly discharged because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Tasmania provides financial redress for those convicted under the state’s former laws against homosexuality and cross-dressing.
“The Australian Government must follow these precedents and provide full justice to mistreated LGBTIQA+ service personnel.
“A certificate and an apology cannot make up for loss of career, loss of income, and the long-term pain of discrimination and humiliation.
“We are disappointed by the Committee’s failure to support financial redress, but we are not daunted and will continue to speak out in support of justice for LGBTIQA+ former service personnel.”
Croome said Just.Equal Australia would step up its advocacy by writing to federal politicians and the RSL, highlighting the need for financial redress and calling for their support.
