Ex-serving ADF members' income and sources of income

This section explores sources of personal income of ex-serving ADF members compared with the Australian population. The analysis focuses on the four main sources of income reported in a personal income tax (PIT) return, including:

• salary or wages
• government pensions and allowances (taxable)
• annuity or superannuation
• business income.

The first three of these income sources were examined as they reflect an individual’s financial stability at different life stages and circumstances. Understanding where people are drawing their income from can provide more detailed insights into their financial situation and help set policy directions. For example, people working part-time might require different types of program or policy support than someone earning the same amount on government pensions and allowances. Business income was also explored to align with the government’s priority to support veterans’ self-employment and entrepreneurship (for example, through the New Business Assistance and the Prince’s Trust Australia Enterprise Program) (DVA 2020, n.d.).

People can report income in any or all of these sources. The amount of income from each source was summed as ‘total income’. In this report, the percentage of income from each source to total income is defined as contribution to total income.

‘Total income’ is a close approximation of ‘total income or loss’ referred in the Personal income section. For information on the difference between ‘total income’ and ‘total income or loss’, see Limitations related to quality and completeness of data sources and data tables available in Data. For more information on each source of personal income, see the Glossary.

Income from multiple sources

• 28% of ex-serving ADF members who submitted tax returns for the 2017–18 financial year reported income from more than one source.
• Salary or wages was the most reported source of income (83%), while business income was the least common (7.6%).
• Ex-serving ADF members receiving income as salary or wages were more likely to have it as the only source of income (74%) compared with business income (30%), annuity or superannuation (30%) or government pensions and allowances (13%).
• Ex-serving ADF members receiving business income most commonly reported also receiving income from salary or wages (about 60%), while about 60% of those receiving annuity or superannuation payments also received income from salary or wages. Approximately 14% of those reporting business income also reported annuity or superannuation income.

Income from salary or wages

Receipt of income from salary or wages

• Binomial logistic regression modelling was conducted to compare the odds of receiving income from salary or wages between ex-serving ADF members and the Australian population in 2017–18.
  • After adjusting for the effects of sex, age and geographic location, the odds of receiving income from salary or wages among ex-serving ADF members were 22% higher (95% CI 20% to 25%) for ex-serving ADF members than the Australian population.
• Binomial logistic regression modelling was also conducted to understand the association between various service characteristics of ex-serving ADF members and the receipt of income from salary or wages in 2017–18. When adjusting for other demographic and service characteristics in the model, the odds of receiving income from salary or wages in 2017–18 were:
  • 79% higher (95% CI 61% to 98%) for those who served less than one year than those who served 10 years or more. The odds decreased with longer service
  • 56% lower (95% CI 53% to 58%) for those who separated involuntarily for medical reasons than those who separated voluntarily
  • 38% higher (95% CI 31% to 46%) for those separated as Other ranks than those who separated as Commissioned Officers
  • 34% higher (95% CI 23% to 45%) for those who separated less than one year before 2017–18 than those who separated 10 years or more
  • 8% lower (95% CI 2% to 15%) for those aged 35 to 44 years than those aged 25 to 34 years. These odds continued to decrease with age.

Median salary or wages income

• In 2017–18, ex-serving ADF members had a higher median income from salary or wages ($78,500 for males and $57,000 for females) compared with the Australian population ($62,000 for males and $43,200 for females).
• Ex-serving ADF members who separated as Commissioned Officers had the highest median income from salary or wages ($105,000 for males and $73,700 for females), while the lowest median income was received by those who separated involuntarily due to medical reasons ($54,300 for males and $44,400 for females).

Contribution of income from salary or wages to total income

• In 2017–18, the contribution of salary or wages to total income was similar between ex-serving ADF members (81% for males and 84% for females) and the Australian population (82% for males and 88% for females).
• For ex-serving ADF members, the contribution to total income of salary or wages income was highest for those:
  • aged 17–54 years, who are typically the working age population (83% to 89% for males, and 84% to 90% for females)
  • living in Western Australia (89% for males and 87% for females) or the Northern Territory (88% for males and 90% for females)
  • being of Other rank at the time of separation from the ADF (85% for males and 86% for females)
  • whose length of service in the ADF was less than five years (88% to 92% for males and 88% to 93% for females).
• The contribution to total income of salary or wages income was lowest for those:
  • aged 65 years and over (32% for males and 41% for females).
  • separated involuntarily from the ADF due to medical reasons (58% for males and 59% for females).

Income from government pensions and allowances

Receipt of income from government pensions or allowances (excluding DVA payments)

• Binomial logistic regression modelling was conducted to compare the odds of receiving income from government pensions and allowances between ex-serving ADF members and Australian population in 2017–18.
  • When adjusting for the effects of sex, age and geographic location, the odds of receiving income from government pensions and allowances among ex-serving ADF members were 7% lower (95% CI 5% to 10%) for ex-serving ADF members than the Australian population.
• Binomial logistic regression modelling was also conducted to understand the association between various service characteristics of ex-serving ADF members and the receipt of income from government pensions and allowances in 2017–18. When adjusting for other demographic and service characteristics in the model, the odds of receiving income from government pensions and allowances in 2017–18 were:
  • 1.5 times as high (95% CI 1.4 to 1.6) for females as for males.
  • 2.0 times as high (95% CI 1.8 to 2.2) for those aged 17 to 24 years as for those aged 25 to 34 years. The odds of receiving government pensions or allowances were 11 times as high (95% CI 9.9 to 13) for those aged 65 years and over as for those aged 25 to 34 years.
  • 2.1 times as high (95% CI 1.9 to 2.3) for those who separated as Other ranks as for those who separated as Commissioned Officers.
  • 2.5 times as high (95% CI 2.2 to 2.8) for those who served less than one year as for those who served 10 years or more. The odds decreased with longer service.

Median income from government pensions and allowances

• In 2017–18, ex-serving ADF members had a lower median income from government pensions and allowances ($6,300 for males and $7,400 for females) than the Australian population ($7,500 for males and $8,300 for females).
• The highest median income from government pensions and allowance occurred in the older age categories for both ex-serving ADF and the Australian populations:
  • ex-serving ADF members aged 65 years and over – $7,400 for males and $7,700 for females
  • Australian population aged 65 years and over – $11,900 for males and $13,400 for females.

Contribution of income from government pensions and allowance to total income

• In 2017–18, the contribution of government pensions and allowances to total income was lower for ex-serving ADF members (0.6% for males and 1.2% for females) than for the Australian population (1.1% for males and 2.5% for females).
• For ex-serving ADF members, the contribution to total income of government pensions and allowances income was highest for those:
  • aged 17–24 years (2.3% for males and 3.6% for females).
  • aged 65 years and over (3.8% for males and 6.0% for females).
  • who served in the ADF for less than one year (1.1% for males and 3.0% for females).
• For persons aged 65 years and over, the contribution to total income of government pensions and allowances income was lower for ex-serving ADF members (3.8% for males and 6.0% for females) compared with the Australian population (11% for males and 23% for females).

Income from annuity or superannuation

Receipt of income from annuity or superannuation

• Binomial logistic regression modelling was conducted to compare the odds of receiving income from annuity or superannuation between ex-serving ADF members and Australian population in 2017–18.
  • When adjusting for the effects of sex, age and geographic location, the odds of receiving income from annuity or superannuation among ex-serving ADF members were 33 times as high (95% CI 32 to 33) for ex-serving ADF members compared with the Australian population.
• Binomial logistic regression modelling was also conducted to understand the association between various service characteristics of ex-serving ADF members and the receipt of income from annuity or superannuation in 2017–18. When adjusting for other demographic (including age) and service characteristics in the model, the odds of receiving income from annuity or superannuation in 2017–18 were:
  • 65 times as high (95% CI 60 to 71) for those who separated involuntarily for medical reasons as for those who separated voluntarily.
    • People can access their superannuation before their preservation age for a number of reasons, including: severe financial hardship, compassionate grounds, terminal medical conditions or incapacity.
  • 5.6 times as high (95% CI 5.1 to 6.2) for those aged 45 to 54 years as for those aged 25 to 34 years. The odds continued to increase with age. 
  • 94% lower (95% CI 93% to 96%) for those who served less than one year than those who served 10 years or more.
  • 47% lower (95% CI 43% to 51%) for females than for males.

Median income from annuity or superannuation

• In 2017–18, the median income from annuity or superannuation was similar for ex-serving ADF males ($30,300) and Australian males ($30,400), but higher for ex-serving ADF females ($29,800) compared with Australian females ($18,200).

Contribution of income from annuity or superannuation to total income

• In 2017–18, the contribution of annuity or superannuation to total income was nearly 8 times higher for ex-serving ADF males (9.3%) and females (7.9%) compared with Australian males (1.2%) and females (0.9%). Consistent findings were observed over the five years from 2013–14 to 2017–18.
• For ex-serving ADF males who separated involuntarily due to medical reasons, 37% of their total income in 2017–18 was from annuity or superannuation, compared with only 4.7% for those who separated voluntarily from the ADF. A similar pattern was observed for ex-serving ADF females who separated involuntarily due to medical reasons, where 36% of their total income was from annuity or superannuation compared with 2.5% for those who separated voluntarily from the ADF.
• The contribution of annuity or superannuation to total income in 2017–18 for ex-serving ADF members was highest for those aged 55-64 years (21% for males and 19% for females) and 65 years and over (46% for males and 38% for females).

Business income

Receipt of income from business

• Binomial logistic regression modelling was conducted to compare the odds of receiving income from business between ex-serving ADF members and the Australian population in 2017–18.
  • When adjusting for the effects of sex, age and geographic location, the odds of receiving income from business among ex-serving ADF members were 36% lower (95% CI 35% to 38%) for ex-serving ADF members than the Australian population.
• Binomial logistic regression modelling was also conducted to understand the association between various service characteristics of ex-serving ADF members and the receipt of income from business in 2017–18. When adjusting for other demographic and service characteristics in the model, the odds of receiving income from business in 2017–18 were:
  • 45% lower (95% CI 35% to 53%) for those aged 17 to 24 years than those aged 25 to 34 years. No difference was found among other age groups
  • 42% lower (95% CI 31% to 51%) for those in the Australian Capital Territory than those in Queensland. No difference was found between Queensland and any other state or territory
  • 36% lower (95% CI 32% to 40%) for those who separated as Other ranks than those who separated as Commissioned Officers
  • 31% lower (95% CI 24% to 37%) for those who separated involuntarily for medical reasons than those who separated voluntarily.

Median business income

• Overall, ex-serving ADF males’ median business income ($28,400) was lower than Australian males ($36,000) in 2017–18. In contrast, the median business income of ex-serving ADF females ($18,300) was similar to Australian females ($19,500).
• Among ex-serving ADF members, the median business income was highest for those who separated as Commissioned Officers ($44,500 for males and $29,000 for females) and lowest for those who separated involuntarily due to medical reasons ($18,600 for males and $9,000 for females).

Contribution of income from business to total income

• In 2017–18, the contribution of business income to total income for ex-serving ADF males (8.8%) was about half that of Australian males (16%). For females, there was less difference, with 6.9% of total income was from business income compared with 8.8% for Australian females. Consistent findings were observed over the five years from 2013–14 to 2017–18.
• For ex-serving ADF members, the contribution to total income of business income was higher for those who separated as Commissioned Officers (18% for males and 13% for females) compared with those who separated as Other ranks (5.9% for males and 4.5% for females).

The interactive data visualisation (Figure 7) presents modelling data on the receipt of income from each of the income sources for ex-serving ADF members in 2017–18 by demographic and service characteristics. Select the Multivariate button to view difference between sub-population groups after adjusting for other factors in the model and use the Univariate button to view unadjusted results.

Figure 7: Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models of having income from one of the listed income sources for ex-serving ADF members, PIT 2017–18, PMKeyS

The interactive data visualisation (Figure 8) presents data on the contribution to total income and median value of each of the income sources for ex-serving ADF members in 2017–18 by service characteristics, in comparison with the Australian population by demographic characteristics.

Figure 8: Contribution of different income sources to the total of the four sources of income and median values of different income sources for ex-serving ADF members and Australian population, by demographic and service-related characteristics, PIT 2017–18, PMKeyS

The interactive data visualisation (Figure 9) presents data on the median value of each of the income sources and contribution to total income for ex-serving ADF members and the Australian population over time, from 2013–14 to 2017–18.

Figure 9: Contribution of different income sources to the total of the four sources of income and median values of total income or loss for ex-serving ADF members and Australian population, by sex, PIT 2013–14 to 2017–18, PMKeyS

Included in this analysis

For the 2017–18 financial year, the analysis includes ADF members who had at least one day of service since 1 January 2001 and who were ex-serving before 1 July 2017 and were alive on 30 June 2018. This study population was designed to ensure the ADF members were ex-serving and experienced the whole financial year for income purposes.

Of these 107,000 ex-serving ADF members, 85% linked to the 2017–18 PIT data in MADIP which resulted in an in-scope population of 90,400 ex-serving ADF members aged 17 years and over.

Further information on population scope, analysis period, methodology can be found in the Technical notes.

Excel source data tables are available from Data.