Eligibility based on service during the Second World War is designed to recognise those who enlisted or were appointed for service outside Australia. In general, a person who served between 3 September 1939 and 30 June 1951 inclusive, who was a member of the Naval, Military or Air Forces of Australia (or any nursing service maintained in connection with these Forces), and who enlisted or was appointed for active service outside Australia is an eligible person.
3.2.1.1Forces Raised for Service Outside Australia. The terms of enlistment in the main Australian Forces included a commitment to render active service outside Australia when required. Accordingly, eligibility may be established if a person enlisted in or was appointed to one of the following Forces:
- Australian Imperial Force;
- Royal Australian Air Force;
- Royal Australian Navy; or
- any nursing service associated with any of the above.
3.2.1.2Forces Raised for Home Service. Enlistment in the following Forces was generally for home service:
- Citizen Military Forces;
- Women's Royal Australian Naval Service;
- Australian Women's Army Service;
- Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force;
- Australian Army Medical Women's Service (but not a member of the AIF); or
- Voluntary Aid Detachment.
For members of the CMF and those members of the VAD who were not full-time paid, eligibility can only be established if the person actually served outside the territorial boundaries of Australia, or there is evidence that the military authorities intended to actually employ them on active service outside Australia. Acceptable evidence would be documentation of an overseas posting or of a posting within Australia 'for overseas movement' during the Second World War.
Members of the Second World War Women's Services and full-time paid members of the VAD during the Second World War who satisfactorily completed a period of service are able to have their eligibility established irrespective of whether they enlisted for overseas service or actually served overseas. The removal of the previous restriction which applied to these groups does not apply to those members of the Women's Services who served during the war-like operations in Korea after 26 June 1950 or Malaya after 28 June 1950.
NOTE 1 - the Torres Strait Islands are within Australia. Service by a member of any of these Forces during a journey from one part of the Commonwealth to another by sea will not ordinarily constitute active service outside Australia unless the member was actually employed in sea-going service. However, if an applicant claims eligibility on the basis of transport in a troopship which came under enemy attack, sufficient information should be sought from the Department of Defence to enable a determination to be made.
NOTE 2 - Advice from the Department of Defence is that, other than nurses, all women in the Australian Air Force during the Second World War were in the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force.