Canberra, ACT, as part of the Australian Defence Organisation
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief
David Hurley[1]
Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese
Minister for Defence
Richard Marles
Chief of the Defence Force
General Angus Campbell
Personnel
Military age
16.5 years (for selection)
17 years (to serve)
18 years (to deploy)
19 years (for special forces deployment)
Conscription
Wartime only[2]
Active personnel
57,346 (30 June 2023)
Reserve personnel
32,049 (30 June 2023)
Deployed personnel
1,841 (July 2020)[3]
Expenditures
Budget
A$ 52.588 billion(2023–24)[4]
Percent of GDP
2.04% (2023/24)[4]
Industry
Domestic suppliers
Defence industry of Australia
Annual exports
Around A$2 billion (2018)[5]
Related articles
History
Military history of Australia
Ranks
Australian Defence Force ranks and insignia
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It has three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The ADF has a strength of just over 89,000 personnel and is supported by the Department of Defence and several other civilian agencies.
During the first decades of the 20th century, the Australian Government established the armed services as separate organisations, with each service having an independent chain of command. In 1976, the government made a strategic change and established the ADF to place the services under a single headquarters. Over time, the degree of integration has increased, and tri-service headquarters, logistics, and training institutions have supplanted many single-service establishments. The ADF has been deployed around the world in combat, peacekeeping and disaster-relief missions.
The ADF is technologically sophisticated but relatively small for it's landmass. Although the ADF's 57,346 full-time active-duty personnel and 32,049 active reservists as of 30 June 2023[update] make it the largest military in Oceania, it is smaller than most Asian military forces. However with a national population of just over 27 million, the ADF has an average ratio of military personnel per capita.[6] The ADF is supported by a significant budget by worldwide standards and is well equipped and trained, with defence spending at 2.04% of GDP (as of 2023/24).[4]
^Cite error: The named reference ACs68 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Defence Act 1903 (Cth) s 60
^"Global Operations". Department of Defence. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
^ abcMax Blenkin (9 May 2023). "Australian budget: Historic defense spending, plus AU$1.2B on US-made missiles". breakingdefense.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
^Dziedzic, Stephen (29 January 2018). "Federal Government accused of contributing to global arms race with defence exports push". ABC News. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
^The Military Balance 2021 (1st ed.). London: Routledge. 25 February 2021. p. 242. ISBN 9781032012278.
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