Defence Minister Stephen Smith says Cabinet has decided to remove the discrimination against women from carrying out frontline roles.
He said there will be a staged removal of restrictions which will occur over five years.
Currently 93 per cent of Australian Defence Force (ADF) positions were open to women.
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These included jobs such as mine disposal divers, air force defence guards and infantry and artillery frontline positions.
These jobs make up 17 per cent of employment opportunities in the ADF.
Mr Smith said the discrimination would be removed over five years in a "careful and methodical" way.
The first implementation report would go to the government in the first quarter of 2012.
Mr Smith said it was a 'significant' cultural change where candidates for the front will be selected 'on the basis of merit, not on the basis of sex'.
"This is a change which has the strong support from the chief of the defence force," he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
