1916 conscription plebiscite

28 October 1916

During the First World War the issue of conscription was fiercely debated and created bitter divisions between supporters and opponents. Two plebiscites on the issue led to the split of the Australian Labor Party and the creation of a new political party. The debate caused great animosity but did not solve the issue of providing troops to fight on the Western Front.  

At the start of the war in 1914 thousands of men freely enlisted. However by 1916, with casualties continuing to grow and no end in sight to the fighting, fewer men volunteered for service. To meet the shortfall in the number of voluntary enlistments, conscription was proposed to secure sufficient reinforcements. 

Compulsory military training for Australian men aged 18 to 60 had been introduced in 1911. In the plebiscites the government sought support to send single men, widowers and divorcees who were engaged in military training overseas to fight.  

The first conscription plebiscite in 1916 was narrowly defeated. Another vote was held in 1917. Again, the issue was defeated. This vote closed the issue for the remainder of the war.