The participation of Australia in overseas conflicts often caused great disruption to life at home. During wartime the Australian Government was able to regulate society more stringently than in times of peace and assumed many executive powers. The War Precautions Act 1914 enabled the Federal Government to tightly control primary industry, international trade and immigration during World War I. The Federal Government was also able to control State taxation, as it largely does today. The government assumed similar powers during World War II, rationing access to food and other goods such as petrol to an extent that affected the daily life of Australians at home. Similarly, The vast numbers of men who joined the armed forces had a major impact on Australian society. With their husbands away, thousands of women were left to cope on their own, and to find the resources with which to raise and support their children.
The conscription referendums of 1916 and 1917 created conflict between those who supported the 'Yes' vote and those who said 'No'. The conscription debate also had a political consequence when the Australian Labor Party divided over the issue and the pro-conscription Prime Minister, William 'Billy' Hughes, walked out on his Labor colleagues to form the National Party. Nearly fifty years later, in 1964, another Australian Prime Minister, R.G. Menzies, endorsed compulsory military service and the selection of servicemen to send to the Vietnam War using a ballot. Many people believed that Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was inappropriate and disagreed with the government decision to bring in conscription. Public demonstrations called moratoriums took place all over Australia in protest against conscription. The first moratorium in Melbourne attracted thousands of demonstrators who referred to the ballot as the 'blood ballot' or the 'lottery of death'.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the war years boosted opportunities for work. This was particularly important at the beginning of World War II when Australia was just emerging from a period of economic depression. In the 1930s many people could not find employment and thousands of Australians lived in abject poverty. However, the onset of war resulted in full employment for men and increased opportunities for women. Over half a million Australians served overseas in the military during World War II, leaving a large gap in the workforce at home. At the same time, Australia's resources were being stretched with the need to feed AIF troops overseas and American GIs based in Australia. Extra food supplies were also needed to send to Britain. A rural labour crisis emerged and by 1941 farmers were lobbying the government to release some of the men from active service to work on the land. In desperation the government turned to women to provide the labor needed.
In 1939 the Country Women's Association (CWA) in Victoria had set up a voluntary service register of women who were willing to work on the land. The CWA acted as a liaison between employers and female workers, however, the organisation was unable to provide the women with a living wage. Greater financial resources were required and so in 1942 the Federal Government took over the register set up by the CWA and established the Australian Women's Land Army (AWLA). Recruits to the AWLA could volunteer either as permanent workers for periods of12 months, or as auxiliaries for casual or seasonal work. The Land Army accepted women who were 18 to 50 but would also take younger girls aged between16 and 18 who had parental permission. AWLA recruits were trained in farm work, given a uniform to wear and paid two pounds a week for their labour. By harvest time in 1944, approximately 3000 women were in the Land Army. The need for women to work during the war years demonstrated that they were capable of taking on different roles in society and irrevocably altered male perceptions of women. The government disbanded the AWLA at the end of World War II.
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