The Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

(ADF) and is the principal military advisor to the National Security Committee and the

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. The current Chief of the Defence Force is General Angus Campbell, who took office on 6 July 2018.

Responsibilities

The CDF commands the ADF under the direction of the Minister for Defence and provides advice on matters that relate to military activity, including military operations. In a diarchy, the CDF serves as co-chairman of the Defence Committee, conjointly with the

Secretary of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

, in the command and control of the Australian Defence Organisation. The CDF is the Australian equivalent position of what in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

is known as the

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position wit ...

, in the United Kingdom is known as the Chief of the Defence Staff, and in the United States is known as the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

, although with the latter prohibited by law from having operational command authority over the US Armed Forces.
10 USC 152. Chairman: appointment; grade and rank Constitutionally, the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

'' Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. However, in practice, the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'' exercises

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...

power via the Federal Executive Council. The CDF is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of his/her ministers. The appointment is politically neutral, as are all military positions, and not affected by a change of government. Since 4 July 2014, the CDF is appointed for a fixed four-year term under the ''Defence Act'' (1903). Prior to this date, the appointment was for three years. The position of CDF is notionally rotated between the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...

, the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who ...

and the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. However, in practice this has not been the case; of eighteen appointees, nine have been from the Army, five from the Navy and four from the Air Force. The current Chief of the Defence Force is

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Angus Campbell. During peacetime, the Chief of the Defence Force is the only four-star officer in the ADF (

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

, or

air chief marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

). The CDF is assisted by the

Vice Chief of the Defence Force The Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) is the military deputy to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) of Australia, and acts as the CDF in his absence under standing acting arrangements. Vice Admiral David Johnston, the incumbent VCDF, has ...

(VCDF) and serves as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Service Committee, composed of the service chiefs: the Chief of Navy (CN), Chief of Army (CA), and Chief of Air Force (CAF), all of whom are three-star officers ( vice admiral,

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

, and air marshal), as is the VCDF.

History

Prior to 1958 there was no CDF or equivalent; a Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) existed but no separate position was established as its senior officer. Instead, the senior service chief served as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. In March 1958, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wells was appointed Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, a role independent of and notionally senior to the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs. However, Wells and his successors did not command the Australian armed forces in any legal sense; the chairman had only an advisory role in the running of the separate services. In February 1976, COSC was dissolved and the new position of Chief of Defence Force Staff (CDFS) was created with command authority over the ADF. In October 1984 the position was renamed Chief of the Defence Force to more clearly reflect the role and its authority.

Appointments

The following list chronologically records those who have held the post of Chief of the Defence Force or its preceding positions. The official title of the position at that period of time is listed immediately before the officers who held the role. The honours are as at the completion of the individual's term. , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=7, Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=7, Chief of Defence Force Staff , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=7, Chief of the Defence Force

Living current and former Chiefs of the Defence Force

The honours listed below are updated as the former/current living chief receives them.

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1955 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1955 Define $now = 2022 Colors = id:ccsc value:rgb(1,0,0) legend: CCSC id:cdfs value:rgb(0,1,0) legend: CDFS id:cdf value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: CDF id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) Legend = orientation:vertical position:right LineData = layer:back width:0.2 color:time at:1955 at:1960 at:1965 at:1970 at:1975 at:1980 at:1985 at:1990 at:1995 at:2000 at:2005 at:2010 at:2015 at:2020 BarData = barset:PM bar:Wells bar:Dowling bar:Scherger bar:Wilton bar:Smith bar:Hassett bar:Hassett2 bar:MacDonald bar:Synnot bar:McNamara bar:Bennett bar:Bennett2 bar:Gration bar:Beaumont bar:Baker bar:Barrie bar:Cosgrove bar:Houston bar:Hurley bar:Binskin bar:Campbell PlotData= width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:Wells from: 1958 till: 1959 color:ccsc text: Sir Henry Wells bar:Dowling from: 1959 till: 1961 color:ccsc text: Sir Roy Dowling bar:Scherger from: 1961 till: 1966 color:ccsc text: Sir Frederick Scherger bar:Wilton from: 1966 till: 1970 color:ccsc text: Sir John Wilton bar:Smith from: 1970 till: 1975 color:ccsc text: Sir Victor Smith bar:Hassett from: 1975 till: 1976 color:ccsc text:

Frank Hassett General Sir Francis George Hassett (11 April 1918 – 11 June 2008) was an Australian general who rose to the position of Chief of the Defence Force Staff, the professional head of the Australian Defence Force, serving in this capacity from No ...

bar:Hassett2 from: 1976 till: 1977 color:cdfs text: Sir Frank Hassett bar:MacDonald from: 1977 till: 1979 color:cdfs text: Sir Arthur MacDonald bar:Synnot from: 1979 till: 1982 color:cdfs text: Sir Anthony Synnot bar:McNamara from: 1982 till: 1984 color:cdfs text: Sir Neville McNamara bar:Bennett from: 1984 till: 1984 color:cdfs text: Sir Phillip Bennett bar:Bennett2 from: 1984 till: 1987 color:cdf text: Sir Phillip Bennett bar:Gration from: 1987 till: 1993 color:cdf text: Peter Gration bar:Beaumont from: 1993 till: 1995 color:cdf text: Alan Beaumont bar:Baker from: 1995 till: 1998 color:cdf text: John Baker bar:Barrie from: 1998 till: 2002 color:cdf text:

Chris Barrie Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown, 28 March 1960) is a British actor, comedian, and impressionist. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show ''Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in t ...

bar:Cosgrove from: 2002 till: 2005 color:cdf text:

Peter Cosgrove General (Australia), General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is a retired senior Australian Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019. A graduate of the Royal Military College, ...

bar:Houston from: 2005 till: 2011 color:cdf text:

Angus Houston Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, (born 9 June 1947) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2001 and then as the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 20 ...

bar:Hurley from: 2011 till: 2014 color:cdf text:

David Hurley General David John Hurley, (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the Australian Army who has served as the 27th governor-general of Australia since 1 July 2019. He was previously the 38th governor of New South Wales, ...

bar:Binskin from: 2014 till: 2018 color:cdf text:

Mark Binskin Air Chief Marshal Mark Donald Binskin, (born 20 March 1960) is a former senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force (2008–11), Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2011–14), and Chief of the Defence Force ...

bar:Campbell from: 2018 till: $now color:cdf text: Angus Campbell

References

External links

* * {{Chief of military by country Leadership of the Australian Defence Force Military appointments of Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...