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Australian Army ORBAT

Army capability development is driven by the Force Structure Plan and aims to increase the potency of the Australian Defence Force and provide options to respond to grey-zone challenges and project military power.

The Royal Australian Infantry Corps (RA Inf) is the parent corps for all infantry regiments of the Australian Army. Major components of the RA Inf include the various battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment and Army Reserve regiments eg. Royal New South Wales Regiment. The Infantry School is located at Singleton, New South Wales.

The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army. It is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. It has its origins in the three battalions of the 34th Brigade, raised in late 1945 — from soldiers in other units of the Second Australian Imperial Force — to form the body of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. In 1947, it was decided that the unit would be the army's first ever standing, regular infantry formation. The brigade was renamed The Australian Regiment in 1948, with the "Royal" prefix being granted the following year. Elements of the regiment have served in several major conflicts, including the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

In 2004, the regiment consisted of six separate battalions:

The Army's insistence on retaining its division level formations hindered changes to meet new strategic guidance. Having moved away from the division to the brigade level, the Army remained reluctant, while the attempt by Lieutenant General Sanderson to move further under Army 21 to combined arms units, was abandoned with apparent alacrity soon after Sanderson retired.

• a special forces capability comprising a Special Air Service regiment, a Regular Army commando battalion; an Army Reserve commando regiment and an Incident Response Regiment
• a medium combined arms operations capability based on 1st Brigade, consisting of a tank regiment, a cavalry regiment, one mechanised infantry battalion, a medium artillery regiment; a combat engineer regiment, a signals regiment and a combat service support battalion
• a light combined arms operations capability based on 3rd Brigade, consisting of an infantry mobility vehicle squadron, three light infantry battalions, a field artillery regiment, a combat engineer regiment, a signals regiment and a combat service support battalion
• a motorised combined arms capability, based on 7th Brigade, consisting of a cavalry regiment, a motorised infantry battalion, a field artillery regiment, a combat engineer regiment, a signals squadron and a combat service support battalion
• a regional surveillance capability based on three regional force surveillance units
• an Army Aviation Command capability based on 16th Brigade consisting of two aviation regiments and two aviation squadrons operating both rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft including Black Hawk, Kiowa, Iroquois and Chinook helicopters, and leased King Air fixed-wing aircraft
• a ground-based air defence capability which maintains a ground-based air defence system consisting of RBS-70 shoulder-launched missile systems
• a combat support force, consisting of a surveillance and target acquisition regiment, an engineer support regiment headquarters, two Regular Army engineer construction squadrons, a construction engineer works section, a topographical survey squadron, a signals regiment, an electronic warfare regiment, an intelligence battalion, a military police battalion, a ground liaison group and a combat training centre
• a logistic support capability based on the 17th Brigade consisting of a signals regiment, three force support battalions, a personnel support battalion, three health support battalions and a psychology unit
• a protective operations capability drawn from the Army Reserve, with six brigades each comprising two or three infantry battalions; a light cavalry unit and combat support and logistic support units.

The Army announced an initiative called Adaptive Army. This will see the Australian Army restructure its higher command and control arrangements. The aims of this restructuring are for Army to better array its force elements to deal with the ADF's evolved command and control structures, more efficiently conduct force generation and preparation and, simultaneously, to master the different learning loops that enhance its adaptive capacity.

The Army sponsors and supports the Australian Army Cadets. This youth development program builds confident, resilient young Australians who are positive future leaders. The program consists of more than 17,300 Australian Army Cadets and 1,250 volunteer adult leaders. The Australian Army Cadet Program works in partnership with communities to develop future leaders. The program gives Australians between 13 and 19 years of age opportunities to learn about emerging technology and practise leadership and teamwork. The program includes 248 units which operate as part of the Defence Force’s One Cadet model. These units are in every state and territory, from city centres to the outback, and are a tangible link between Army and the community

The Albanese Government implemented key recommendations of the Defence Strategic Review 29 September 2023, taking steps to align our Army with the challenges in Australia’s strategic environment. As recommended by the DSR and agreed to by the Albanese Government, “Army should be structured and postured in accordance with the land domain force structure design priorities outlined in the Review.” The DSR signals a shift from having a defence force with a broad range of capabilities to a much more focused force directed to maintaining the peace and security of the region.

Accordingly in restructuring the Army Austrlia was moving from generalist combat brigades to specialist combat brigades. To achieve this, the Albanese Government is announcing key changes to Army’s units and formations as well as changes to equipment locations. These changes will support Army to lift its capabilities, preparedness and projection.

The 1st Brigade, based in Darwin, will be a light combat brigade. 1st Brigade will be light, agile and quick to deploy in the littoral environment. Darwin will see minor changes to the combat brigade, with a focus on light forces that are agile and quick to move. The number of Army personnel posted to Darwin will remain steady over time.

The 3rd Brigade, based in Townsville, will be an armoured combat brigade. 3rd Brigade will be an armoured brigade designed for amphibious operations with the Royal Australian Navy in order to secure decisive terrain. Townsville will become the home of armoured vehicles and army attack and medium-lift aviation. As a result of the above, Army’s presence in Townsville will grow.

The 7th Brigade, based in Brisbane, will be a motorised combat brigade. 7th Brigade will be motorised and optimised to project by air and sea to respond to regional contingencies. Brisbane will be home to a motorised combat brigade with a focus on ability to uplift and move personnel.

The 10th Brigade, based in Adelaide, will be raised as a fires brigade. Accelerated and expanded Long-Range Strike (HIMARS) and Integrated Air and Missile Defence capabilities (NASAMS) will be based here. Army’s presence in Adelaide will initially decrease in full-time personnel numbers over the short term, but is expected to return to current levels from 2028 onwards.

The 5th Battalion and the 7th Battalion will be re-linked to become 5th/7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, and will be based in Darwin.

The 1st Armoured Regiment will be re-roled as an experimental unit to deliver and integrate emerging technologies. This will remain at its present location in Adelaide. Adelaide will become future-focused, with key future long-range strike capabilities consolidated here. Personnel from 7th Battalion and 1st Armoured Regiment will post to new locations as their planned postings end or earlier if they choose. This will see most personnel posting in the December 2024 and January 2025 period. Supporting personnel and their families will be central in Army’s approach to implementing these changes.

The 2nd (Australian) Division – the division that commands all security and response brigades in Australia – will maintain largely part-time brigades around Australia. The Regional Force Surveillance Group will remain focused on security in northern Australia.

Army Aviation and Special Operations Commands will continue on their current modernisation pathways.

Army’s presence in Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and New South Wales will be largely unaffected by these changes.

To minimise the impact of the changes on soldiers and their families, Army will not move personnel between regions outside of the normal posting cycles.

Quotes attributable to the Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles: “These changes to Army are about responding to the recommendations of the Defence Strategic Review to maintain peace, security and prosperity in our region. Our Army has always played a vital role in the defence of our nation and will continue to do so as it adapts to the challenges of our times. These changes involve some hard decisions. But these decisions are necessary to build the Army Australia needs. This will mean Army has a concentration of people and capabilities in Australia’s north, making it easier to deploy for training, major exercises or to support our partners and allies in the region.”

Quotes attributable to Acting Chief of Army, Major General Richard Vagg: “This is about organising Army to train as we would fight and making the most of the resources we have been assigned. These changes will deliver world class, relevant and credible combat capabilities that are focused and optimised for operating in the littoral environments of our region, on land, at sea and in the air. Our aim is to limit the disruption to our people and their families as we make these important changes. Our people are our Army and I thank each and every one for your service and commitment to adapting our Army.”