Australian contribution to UNTAC in Cambodia 1992 – 1993 The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia ( UNTAC ) was a peacekeeping mission established in the early 1990s following the civil war which broke out in Cambodia after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979 . The Australian government had closely followed events in Cambodia given the possible implications for regional security , while out of a desire to be seen as a good international citizen it had also invested heavily diplomatically in order to push the parties towards a peace agreement . In August 1989 the UN attempted to broker a peace agreement between the warring factions , and included amongst the reconnaissance party were two Australian officers tasked with laying the groundwork for a monitoring force should it be deployed . However after the collapse of the peace effort the proposed UN force was cancelled and the reconnaissance team withdrawn . Two years later , however , following the Paris Agreements in 1991 UNTAC was successfully established to monitor a new ceasefire and elections which were initially planned for March 1992 . UNTAC was the largest and most complex UN operation since the Congo in the 1960s , comprising 16 , 000 troops , 900 military observers , 3 , 350 civilian police and several thousand civilian staff . The Australian contingent served from the inception of the mission in late 1991 until it withdrew in November 1993 , and at its height numbered 600 personnel . Approximately 1 , 215 Australians served in Cambodia , and although they suffered a number of casualties , none were killed during the mission . UNAMIC . The Australian contribution initially included an advance party of 65 communications personnel under the United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia ( UNAMIC ) . The first 40 signallers arrived in Phnom Penh on 10 November 1991 , the day after UNAMIC headquarters opened . They were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Russell Stuart , who became the mission ' s first casualty on 26 February 1992 when he was wounded after the helicopter he was travelling in was hit by ground fire close to the Thai border . Later the commitment was increased to 65 signallers . UNTAC . The ADF ultimately contributed a force of 600 personnel to UNTAC , including 488 in the Force Communications Unit ( FCU ) , which was tasked with providing communications infrastructure — including HF radio , telex , telephone , courier services and data transfer — for the mission across fifty - six locations throughout the country . The first rotation of the FCU was composed largely of Army signallers from 2 Signals Regiment and was commanded Lieutenant Colonel Steve Ayling . Later the FCU was made up of signallers from the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy , as well as 40 New Zealanders ; Ayling was subsequently succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Marty Studdert . A thirty man movement control unit and a twenty man military police unit were subsequently added later . Whilst a ten man Australian Federal Police ( AFP ) was also provided to assist in the restoration of law and order . A further 115 personnel , comprising six S - 70A Blackhawk helicopters and their crews drawn from 5th Aviation Regiment , as well as a small number of infantry from 2 / 4RAR , were deployed from May – July 1993 . During the election itself the Australian Electoral Commission provided 50 staff to assist with voter registration . Initially it had been suggested by the Australian Minister for Defence , Robert Ray , that Australia would provide up to 1 , 300 personnel to UNTAC when it took over — including an engineering squadron — however by the time the UN formally made its request in February 1992 the offer was reduced to 550 . UNTAC subsequently took over in May and the main body of Australian personnel arrived in Phnom Penh in April – June 1992 , taking over a large disused barracks as their base — dubbed Pteah Australii or " home of the Australians " . Australian personnel deployed to Cambodia served tours of varying length , between five to thirteen months long , whilst some officers serving in UNTAC headquarters served even longer . Australia also provided the force commander , Lieutenant General John Sanderson , being only the second occasion in which Australia provided the commander of a UN mission . Sanderson ' s task was a difficult one , as not only did the Khmer Rouge attempt to disrupt the mission , the troops under his command also proved hard to manage . Indeed at one time Sanderson even faced death threats from a number of members of the Bulgarian contingent over pay and conditions . As the mission progressed the dangers increased , with the Khmer Rouge attacking UNTAC personnel on a number of occasions , and killing a group of Bulgarian soldiers , as well as a Japanese electoral worker and his interpreter . The Australian contingent , consisting mainly of support troops , saw little action in the traditional sense , although it too had to face its share of danger . On at least one occasion infantry from 2 / 4RAR had to defend themselves after becoming involved in a night - time contact at the helicopter base at Battambang after a Mi - 26 heavy lift helicopter received ground fire when returning to land . A number of individuals in the FCU — often deployed in small groups in isolated parts of the country as they were — also had lucky escapes after being caught in contacts between warring factions , in artillery barrages and even being taken hostage by the Khmer Rouge . Withdrawal . By mid - 1993 the refugee camps along the Thai border had been closed and more the 337 , 000 displaced persons resettled , most eligible voters had been registered , more than 250 , 000 former soldiers disarmed and a program of demining initiated . UNTAC had also successfully extended its security umbrella through widespread patrolling , the confiscation of weapons and other measures to reduce banditry , whilst he Khmer Rouge had also been sidelined , even if it continued to poss a threat . The elections were successfully held between 23 – 28 May 1993 , and by November 1993 the United Nations withdrew from Cambodia altogether . Arguably the mission to Cambodia represented a significant change in Australian thinking towards peacekeeping , and its level of commitment . Previously , although a frequent contributor to UN operations , Australia had contributed small numbers of individual personnel to fill technical positions ( e . g . signals , engineers or medical personnel ) or as observers , however in Cambodia the ADF deployed a significant sized force , albeit again providing higher level technically qualified personnel and support staff , rather than combat troops . This approach however , placed significant strain on the ADF , with the mission denuding it of the bulk of its communications specialists . Subsequently Australia became increasingly involved in UN peacekeeping operations throughout the mid - 1990s , deploying significant forces — including combat troops — to Somalia and Rwanda , and later still to East Timor . Approximately 1 , 215 Australians served in Cambodia , and although they suffered a number of casualties , none were killed during the mission .