Royal Australian Army Pay Corps The Royal Australian Army Pay Corps is a Corps of the Australian Army . Its role is to provide financial advice and assistance to the Australian Army . The Australian Army Pay Corps ( AAPC ) was originally formed on 21 September 1914 with MAJ Albert G . Farr being appointed as the Commanding Officer of the 1st Australian Army Pay Details Unit . It consisted of three officers and 22 Other Ranks who deployed to the Middle East on 21 October 1914 . The first Chief Paymaster was LTCOL Thomas W . Jolliffe , CMG . The AAPC served in all theatres of World War I as well as staffing the Paymaster ’ s Branch in London . Authority to raise Home Forces Citizen Pay Units was provided in 1916 , which is currently celebrated as the origin of the Corps . However , it was disbanded on 21 June 1921 with pay duties reverting to civilian employees in military districts and to Pay Sergeants in the Militia . As the threat of a new war approached a small nucleus of the AAPC was reformed consisting of 40 part - time Citizens Military Force officers . It would be the basis for expansion although there was a significant shortage of suitably trained personnel until 1943 . Correcting this shortage is best illustrated by a true story of a group of recruits at the time : “ Prove anyone who worked in a bank ” . One man stepped forward and was promptly transferred to the AAPC . It was later discovered that he was a lift driver in the city headquarters of a bank . However he proved his worth , later being commissioned . The Chief Paymaster of the 2nd AIF was BRIG G . N . Moore , CBE , DFC , ED , FCA who was appointed on 13 November 1939 . He and the advance party of the AAPC departed for the Middle East on 15 December 1939 . The initial Imprest Account was £ 1 000 , raised to £50 000 upon arrival in Jerusalem . AAPC personnel accompanied each division and by June 1940 opened in London to service 9th Division . In addition to the Divisional Field Pay Offices AAPC personnel served in a total of 103 Cash offices and distributed over £202 000 000 by the end of the war . Over 7 000 soldiers served in the corps , providing services to 3 200 units . With the exception of those required for service with the occupational forces in Japan , the Corps was again disbanded in 1946 . May 1948 saw the re - raising of the AAPC within the CMF as Detachments in each state . On 27 October that same year the title ‘ Royal ’ was granted to the corps in recognition of the services provided by the Pay Corps personnel in both wars . During the Vietnam War the RAAPC provided pay support to Australian soldiers in Saigon , Nui Dat and Vung Tau . The first Financial Adviser posted to Vietnam was LTCOL W . T . A . Murphy with CAPTs Parker , Gow and Mahomet being the first Paymasters in the Cash Offices . Simultaneously Corps personnel served in Cash Offices located in Singapore and Malaya . Later this support was extended to cover SEATO exercises in Thailand , the Philippines and the survey operations conducted throughout Indonesia and West Irian . In 1990 the Australian Regular Army component formed . Since then its personnel have served in Iraq , the Western Sahara , Cambodia , Somalia , Rwanda , Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea . Currently the Corps has members in Bougainville , East Timor , Sinai , Malaysia , Afghanistan and the Middle East . Interestingly , it also provided the first Financial Adviser to Australia ’ s contingent to Afghanistan , a Reserve Officer in keeping with its early traditions .