Almost half of Australians think foreign military will attack within five years, ANU study suggests

Australian navy ships off Darwin. Almost 70% of those surveyed before the current Iran war thought Australia would be involved in a conflict overseas within five years. Photograph: Reuters

Nearly half of Australians believe a foreign military will attack the country within five years, as anxiety over national security issues rises sharply, a new study suggests.

The Australian National University’s National Security College report found that two-thirds of those polled in 2026, including an increasing number of teenagers and young adults, were worried about national security issues.