 significant Australian actions included Binh Ba in June 1969 , Hat Dich in late @-@ December 1968 and early 1969 and Long Khanh in June 1971 . At the height of the Australian commitment , 1 ATF numbered 8 @,@ 500 troops , including three infantry battalions , armour , artillery , engineers , logistics and aviation units in support . A third RAAF unit , No. 2 Squadron RAAF , flying Canberra bombers , was sent in 1967 , and four RAN destroyers joined US patrols in the waters off North Vietnam .   The Australian withdrawal effectively commenced in November 1970 . As a consequence of the overall allied strategy of Vietnamization and with the Australian government keen to reduce its own commitment to the war , 8 RAR was not replaced at the end of its tour of duty . 1 ATF was again reduced to just two infantry battalions , albeit with significant armour , artillery and aviation support remaining . Australian combat forces were further reduced during 1971 as part of a phased withdrawal , and 1 ATF ceased operations in October . Meanwhile , the advisors remained to train South Vietnamese troops until withdrawn on 18 December 1972 by the newly elected Labor government of Gough Whitlam . The last Australian forces were finally withdrawn in 1973 . The Vietnam War was Australia 's longest and most controversial war and although initially enjoying broad support , as the nation 's military involvement increased a vocal anti @-@ war movement developed . More than 50 @,@ 000 Australians served in Vietnam ; 519 were killed and 2 @,@ 398 were wounded . Four were awarded the Victoria Cross .   = = Post @-@ Vietnam era = =   = = = Creation of the Australian Defence Force , 1976 = = =   Although the importance of ' joint ' warfare had been highlighted during Second World War when Australian naval , ground and air units frequently served as part of single commands , the absence of a central authority continued to result in poor co @-@ ordination between the services in the post @-@ war era , with each organising and operating on the basis of a different military doctrine . The need for an integrated command structure received more emphasis during the Australian military 's experiences in the Vietnam War . In 1973 , the Secretary of the Department of Defence , Arthur Tange , submitted a report to the Government that recommended the unification of the separate departments supporting each service into a single department and the creation of the post of Chief of the Defence Force Staff .   The Whitlam Labor Government subsequently amalgamated the five defence ministries ( Defence , Navy , Army , Air Force , and Supply ) into a single Department of Defence in 1973 , while conscription under the National Service scheme was abolished . On 1 January 1976 , the three branches of the Australian military were brought together as a unified , all @-@ volunteer , professional force known as the Australian Defence Force ( ADF ) . Today , the ADF is headquartered at Russell Offices in Canberra and is divided into Air , Land , Maritime and Special Operations Commands . In addition , Northern Command is based in Darwin , and is responsible for operations in Northern Australia .   = = = Defence of Australia , 1980s and 1990s = = =   Until the 1970s , Australia 's military strategy centred on the concept of Forward Defence , in which the role of Australian military and naval forces were to co @-@ operate with Allied forces to counter threats in Australia 's region . Following the adoption of the Guam Doctrine by the United States in 1969 , and the British withdrawal ' east of Suez ' in the early 1970s , Australia developed a defence policy emphasising self @-@ reliance and the defence of the Australian continent . Known as the Defence of Australia Policy , it focused Australian defence planning on protecting the nation 's northern maritime approaches ( the ' air @-@ sea gap ' ) against possible attack .   In line with this goal , the ADF was restructured to increase its ability to strike at enemy forces from Australian bases and to counter raids on continental Australia . This was achieved by increasing the capabilities of the RAN and RAAF , and relocating regular Army units to Northern Australia . During this time the ADF had no military units on operational deployment outside Australia . However , in 1987 the ADF made its first operational deployment as part of Operation Morris Dance , in which several warships and a rifle company deployed to the waters off Fiji in response to the 1987 Fijian coups d 'état . While broadly successful , this deployment highlighted the need for the ADF to improve its capability to rapidly respond to unforeseen events .   During this period Australia continued to retain forces in Malaysia as part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements ( FPDA ) agreed in 1971 to defend it in the event of external attack , with this commitment initially including significant air , ground and naval forces . However , these forces were gradually reduced with the infantry battalion withdrawn from Singapore in 1973 , and the two Mirage fighter squadrons in 1988 . Since then a detachment of Orion maritime patrol aircraft , support personnel , and an infantry company known as Rifle Company Butterworth have
Ġsignificant ĠAustralian Ġactions Ġincluded ĠBin h ĠBa Ġin ĠJune Ġ1969 Ġ, ĠHat ĠD ich Ġin Ġlate Ġ@ - @ ĠDecember Ġ1968 Ġand Ġearly Ġ1969 Ġand ĠLong ĠKhan h Ġin ĠJune Ġ1971 Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġheight Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġcommitment Ġ, Ġ1 ĠATF Ġnumbered Ġ8 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 Ġtroops Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthree Ġinfantry Ġbatt alions Ġ, Ġarmour Ġ, Ġartillery Ġ, Ġengineers Ġ, Ġlogistics Ġand Ġaviation Ġunits Ġin Ġsupport Ġ. ĠA Ġthird ĠR AAF Ġunit Ġ, ĠNo . Ġ2 ĠSquadron ĠR AAF Ġ, Ġflying ĠCanberra Ġbombers Ġ, Ġwas Ġsent Ġin Ġ1967 Ġ, Ġand Ġfour ĠR AN Ġdestroy ers Ġjoined ĠUS Ġpatrols Ġin Ġthe Ġwaters Ġoff ĠNorth ĠVietnam Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠAustralian Ġwithdrawal Ġeffectively Ġcommenced Ġin ĠNovember Ġ1970 Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġconsequence Ġof Ġthe Ġoverall Ġallied Ġstrategy Ġof ĠVietnam ization Ġand Ġwith Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġgovernment Ġkeen Ġto Ġreduce Ġits Ġown Ġcommitment Ġto Ġthe Ġwar Ġ, Ġ8 ĠR AR Ġwas Ġnot Ġreplaced Ġat Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġits Ġtour Ġof Ġduty Ġ. Ġ1 ĠATF Ġwas Ġagain Ġreduced Ġto Ġjust Ġtwo Ġinfantry Ġbatt alions Ġ, Ġalbeit Ġwith Ġsignificant Ġarmour Ġ, Ġartillery Ġand Ġaviation Ġsupport Ġremaining Ġ. ĠAustralian Ġcombat Ġforces Ġwere Ġfurther Ġreduced Ġduring Ġ1971 Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġa Ġphased Ġwithdrawal Ġ, Ġand Ġ1 ĠATF Ġceased Ġoperations Ġin ĠOctober Ġ. ĠMeanwhile Ġ, Ġthe Ġadvisors Ġremained Ġto Ġtrain ĠSouth ĠVietnamese Ġtroops Ġuntil Ġwithdrawn Ġon Ġ18 ĠDecember Ġ1972 Ġby Ġthe Ġnewly Ġelected ĠLabor Ġgovernment Ġof ĠG ough ĠWhit lam Ġ. ĠThe Ġlast ĠAustralian Ġforces Ġwere Ġfinally Ġwithdrawn Ġin Ġ1973 Ġ. ĠThe ĠVietnam ĠWar Ġwas ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġlongest Ġand Ġmost Ġcontroversial Ġwar Ġand Ġalthough Ġinitially Ġenjoying Ġbroad Ġsupport Ġ, Ġas Ġthe Ġnation Ġ' s Ġmilitary Ġinvolvement Ġincreased Ġa Ġvocal Ġanti Ġ@ - @ Ġwar Ġmovement Ġdeveloped Ġ. ĠMore Ġthan Ġ50 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAustralians Ġserved Ġin ĠVietnam Ġ; Ġ5 19 Ġwere Ġkilled Ġand Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ398 Ġwere Ġwounded Ġ. ĠFour Ġwere Ġawarded Ġthe ĠVictoria ĠCross Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠPost Ġ@ - @ ĠVietnam Ġera Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠCreation Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠDefence ĠForce Ġ, Ġ1976 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġimportance Ġof Ġ' Ġjoint Ġ' Ġwarfare Ġhad Ġbeen Ġhighlighted Ġduring ĠSecond ĠWorld ĠWar Ġwhen ĠAustralian Ġnaval Ġ, Ġground Ġand Ġair Ġunits Ġfrequently Ġserved Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġsingle Ġcommands Ġ, Ġthe Ġabsence Ġof Ġa Ġcentral Ġauthority Ġcontinued Ġto Ġresult Ġin Ġpoor Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġord ination Ġbetween Ġthe Ġservices Ġin Ġthe Ġpost Ġ@ - @ Ġwar Ġera Ġ, Ġwith Ġeach Ġorganising Ġand Ġoperating Ġon Ġthe Ġbasis Ġof Ġa Ġdifferent Ġmilitary Ġdoctrine Ġ. ĠThe Ġneed Ġfor Ġan Ġintegrated Ġcommand Ġstructure Ġreceived Ġmore Ġemphasis Ġduring Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġ' s Ġexperiences Ġin Ġthe ĠVietnam ĠWar Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1973 Ġ, Ġthe ĠSecretary Ġof Ġthe ĠDepartment Ġof ĠDefence Ġ, ĠArthur ĠT ange Ġ, Ġsubmitted Ġa Ġreport Ġto Ġthe ĠGovernment Ġthat Ġrecommended Ġthe Ġunification Ġof Ġthe Ġseparate Ġdepartments Ġsupporting Ġeach Ġservice Ġinto Ġa Ġsingle Ġdepartment Ġand Ġthe Ġcreation Ġof Ġthe Ġpost Ġof ĠChief Ġof Ġthe ĠDefence ĠForce ĠStaff Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠWhit lam ĠLabor ĠGovernment Ġsubsequently Ġamalg am ated Ġthe Ġfive Ġdefence Ġministries Ġ( ĠDefence Ġ, ĠNavy Ġ, ĠArmy Ġ, ĠAir ĠForce Ġ, Ġand ĠSupply Ġ) Ġinto Ġa Ġsingle ĠDepartment Ġof ĠDefence Ġin Ġ1973 Ġ, Ġwhile Ġcons cription Ġunder Ġthe ĠNational ĠService Ġscheme Ġwas Ġabolished Ġ. ĠOn Ġ1 ĠJanuary Ġ1976 Ġ, Ġthe Ġthree Ġbranches Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġwere Ġbrought Ġtogether Ġas Ġa Ġunified Ġ, Ġall Ġ@ - @ Ġvolunteer Ġ, Ġprofessional Ġforce Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠDefence ĠForce Ġ( ĠAD F Ġ) Ġ. ĠToday Ġ, Ġthe ĠAD F Ġis Ġheadquartered Ġat ĠRussell ĠOff ices Ġin ĠCanberra Ġand Ġis Ġdivided Ġinto ĠAir Ġ, ĠLand Ġ, ĠMaritime Ġand ĠSpecial ĠOperations ĠCommands Ġ. ĠIn Ġaddition Ġ, ĠNorthern ĠCommand Ġis Ġbased Ġin ĠDarwin Ġ, Ġand Ġis Ġresponsible Ġfor Ġoperations Ġin ĠNorthern ĠAustralia Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠDefence Ġof ĠAustralia Ġ, Ġ1980 s Ġand Ġ1990 s Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠUntil Ġthe Ġ1970 s Ġ, ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġmilitary Ġstrategy Ġcent red Ġon Ġthe Ġconcept Ġof ĠForward ĠDefence Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġthe Ġrole Ġof ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġand Ġnaval Ġforces Ġwere Ġto Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġoperate Ġwith ĠAllied Ġforces Ġto Ġcounter Ġthreats Ġin ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġregion Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġthe Ġadoption Ġof Ġthe ĠGuam ĠDoctrine Ġby Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġin Ġ1969 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠBritish Ġwithdrawal Ġ' Ġeast Ġof ĠS uez Ġ' Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġ1970 s Ġ, ĠAustralia Ġdeveloped Ġa Ġdefence Ġpolicy Ġemphas ising Ġself Ġ@ - @ Ġreliance Ġand Ġthe Ġdefence Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġcontinent Ġ. ĠKnown Ġas Ġthe ĠDefence Ġof ĠAustralia ĠPolicy Ġ, Ġit Ġfocused ĠAustralian Ġdefence Ġplanning Ġon Ġprotecting Ġthe Ġnation Ġ' s Ġnorthern Ġmaritime Ġapproaches Ġ( Ġthe Ġ' Ġair Ġ@ - @ Ġsea Ġgap Ġ' Ġ) Ġagainst Ġpossible Ġattack Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġline Ġwith Ġthis Ġgoal Ġ, Ġthe ĠAD F Ġwas Ġrestruct ured Ġto Ġincrease Ġits Ġability Ġto Ġstrike Ġat Ġenemy Ġforces Ġfrom ĠAustralian Ġbases Ġand Ġto Ġcounter Ġraids Ġon Ġcontinental ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠThis Ġwas Ġachieved Ġby Ġincreasing Ġthe Ġcapabilities Ġof Ġthe ĠR AN Ġand ĠR AAF Ġ, Ġand Ġrel ocating Ġregular ĠArmy Ġunits Ġto ĠNorthern ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthis Ġtime Ġthe ĠAD F Ġhad Ġno Ġmilitary Ġunits Ġon Ġoperational Ġdeployment Ġoutside ĠAustralia Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġin Ġ1987 Ġthe ĠAD F Ġmade Ġits Ġfirst Ġoperational Ġdeployment Ġas Ġpart Ġof ĠOperation ĠMorris ĠDance Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġseveral Ġwarships Ġand Ġa Ġrifle Ġcompany Ġdeployed Ġto Ġthe Ġwaters Ġoff ĠFiji Ġin Ġresponse Ġto Ġthe Ġ1987 ĠF ij ian Ġcou ps Ġd Ġ' Ã©t at Ġ. ĠWhile Ġbroadly Ġsuccessful Ġ, Ġthis Ġdeployment Ġhighlighted Ġthe Ġneed Ġfor Ġthe ĠAD F Ġto Ġimprove Ġits Ġcapability Ġto Ġrapidly Ġrespond Ġto Ġunforeseen Ġevents Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthis Ġperiod ĠAustralia Ġcontinued Ġto Ġretain Ġforces Ġin ĠMalaysia Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠFive ĠPower ĠDefence ĠAr rang ements Ġ( ĠFP DA Ġ) Ġagreed Ġin Ġ1971 Ġto Ġdefend Ġit Ġin Ġthe Ġevent Ġof Ġexternal Ġattack Ġ, Ġwith Ġthis Ġcommitment Ġinitially Ġincluding Ġsignificant Ġair Ġ, Ġground Ġand Ġnaval Ġforces Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġthese Ġforces Ġwere Ġgradually Ġreduced Ġwith Ġthe Ġinfantry Ġbattalion Ġwithdrawn Ġfrom ĠSingapore Ġin Ġ1973 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġtwo ĠMirage Ġfighter Ġsquad rons Ġin Ġ1988 Ġ. ĠSince Ġthen Ġa Ġdetachment Ġof ĠOrion Ġmaritime Ġpatrol Ġaircraft Ġ, Ġsupport Ġpersonnel Ġ, Ġand Ġan Ġinfantry Ġcompany Ġknown Ġas ĠRifle ĠCompany ĠButter worth Ġhave