Australian Army The Australian Army is Australia ' s military land force . It is part of the Australian Defence Force ( ADF ) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force . While the Chief of Defence ( CDF ) commands the Australian Defence Force ( ADF ) , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ( CA ) . The CA is therefore subordinate to the CDF , but is also directly responsible to the Minister for Defence . Although Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history , only in World War II has Australian territory come under direct attack . History . The history of the Australian Army can be divided into two periods : During its history the Australian Army has fought a large number of major wars , including : Second Boer War ( 1899 – 1902 ) , First World War ( 1914 – 1918 ) , the Second World War ( 1939 – 1945 ) , Korea War ( 1950 – 1953 ) , Malayan Emergency ( 1950 – 1960 ) , Indonesia - Malaysia Confrontation ( 1962 – 1966 ) , Vietnam War ( 1962 – 1973 ) , and more recently in Afghanistan ( 2001 – present ) and Iraq ( 2003 – 2009 ) . However , since 1947 it has also been involved in many peacekeeping operations , usually under the auspices of the United Nations . The largest one began in 1999 in East Timor . Other notable operations include peacekeeping on Bougainville and in the Solomon Islands , which are still ongoing to this day . Humanitarian relief after 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in Aceh Province , Indonesia , Operation Sumatra Assist , ended on 24 March 2005 . Current deployments . the Australian Army had significant forces deployed in three major operations : Current organisation . The 1st Division comprises a deployable headquarters , while 2nd Division under the command of Forces Command is the main home - defence formation , containing Army Reserve units . 2nd Division ' s headquarters only performs administrative functions . The Australian Army has not deployed a divisional - sized formation since 1945 and does not expect to do so in the future . 1st Division . 1st Division carries out high - level training activities and deploys to command large - scale ground operations . It does not have any combat units permanently assigned . Forces Command . Forces Command controls for administrative purposes all non - special - forces assets of the Australian Army . It is neither an operational nor a deployable command . Additionally , Forces Command includes the following training establishments : Special Forces . Special Operations Command comprises a command formation of equal status to the other commands in the ADF . It is a brigade - sized formation responsible for all of Australia ' s special - forces assets . Planned restructuring . Under a restructuring program known as Plan Beersheba announced in late 2011 , the 1st , 3rd and 7th Brigades will re - formed as combined - arms multi - role manoeuvre brigades with the 2nd Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment ( part of the 3rd Brigade ) as the core of a future amphibious force similar to the United States Marine Corps . Colours , standards and guidons . Infantry , and some other combat units of the Australian Army carry flags called the Queen ' s Colour and the Regimental Colour , known as " the Colours " . Armoured units carry Standards and Guidons – flags smaller than Colours traditionally carried by Cavalry , Lancer , Light Horse and Mounted Infantry units . The 1st Armoured Regiment is the only unit in the Australian Army to carry a Standard , in the tradition of heavy armoured units . Artillery units ' guns are considered to be their Colours , and on parade are provided with the same respect . Non - combat units ( combat service support corps ) do not have Colours , as Colours are battle flags and so are only available to combat units . As a substitute , many have Standards or Banners . Units awarded battle honours have them emblazoned on their Colours , Standards and Guidons . They are a link to the unit ' s past and a memorial to the fallen . Artillery do not have Battle Honours – their single Honour is " Ubique " which means " Everywhere " – although they can received Honour Titles . The Army is the guardian of the National Flag and as such , unlike the Royal Australian Air Force , does not have a flag or Colours . The Army , instead , has a banner , known as the Army Banner . To commemorate the centenary of the Army , the Governor General Sir William Deane , presented the Army with a new Banner at a parade in front of the Australian War Memorial on 10 March 2001 . The Banner was presented to the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army ( RSM - A ) , Warrant Officer Peter Rosemond . The Army Banner bears the Australian Coat of Arms on the obverse , with the dates " 1901 – 2001 " in gold in the upper hoist . The reverse bears the " rising sun " badge of the Australian Army , flanked by seven campaign honours on small gold - edged scrolls : South Africa , World War I , World War II , Korea , Malaya - Borneo , South Vietnam , and Peacekeeping . The banner is trimmed with gold fringe , has gold and crimson cords and tassels , and is mounted on a pike with the usual British royal crest finial . Personnel . Strength . In the 2010 – 11 financial year the Army had an average strength of 47 , 135 personnel : 30 , 235 permanent ( regular ) and 16 , 900 active reservists ( part - time ) . In addition there are another 12 , 496 members of the Standby Reserve . The regular Army is targeted to expand to 31 , 000 personnel by 2014 – 15 . Rank and insignia . The ranks of the Australian Army are based on the ranks of the British Army , and carry mostly the same actual insignia . For officer s the ranks are identical except for the shoulder title " Australia " . The Non - Commissioned Officer insignia are the same up until Warrant Officer ranks , where they are stylised for Australia ( for example , using the Australian , rather than the British coat of arms ) . The ranks of the Australian Army are as follows : Army bases . The Army ' s operational headquarters , Forces Command , is located at Victoria Barracks in Sydney . The Australian Army ' s three regular brigades are based at Robertson Barracks near Darwin , Lavarack Barracks in Townsville and Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane . The Deployable Joint Force Headquarters is also located at Gallipoli Barracks . Other important Army bases include the Army Aviation Centre near Oakey , Queensland , Holsworthy Barracks near Sydney , Lone Pine Barracks in Singleton , New South Wales and Woodside Barracks near Adelaide , South Australia . The SASR is based at Campbell Barracks Swanbourne , a suburb of Perth , Western Australia . Puckapunyal north of Melbourne , Victoria houses the Australian Army ' s Combined Arms Training Centre , Land Warfare Development Centre , and three of the five principal Combat Arms schools . Further barracks include Steele Barracks in Sydney , Keswick Barracks in Adelaide , and Irwin Barracks at Karrakatta in Perth . Dozens of Australian Army Reserve depots are located across Australia .