The Military Board, also known as the Military Board of Administration, was the controlling body of the

Australian Military Forces The Australian Military Forces (AMF) was the official name of the Army of Australia from 1916 to 1980. This encompassed both the (full-time) "regular army", and the (part-time) forces, variously known during this period as the Militia, the Citizen ...

(AMF) from 1905 to 1976. It was composed of senior military and civilian members, and chaired by the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afg ...

(CGS). Initially based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, the board relocated to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1959. On its formation in January 1905, the regular members of the Military Board were 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 president of the board), the Deputy Adjutant-General, the Chief of Intelligence, the Chief of Ordnance, and a civilian Finance Member; members of the

Citizens Military Force The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

could also attend board meetings as required. The CGS position was initiated in 1909. The board as a whole was responsible for administering the AMF, subject to the control of the Minister. In November 1939 the board came under the newly formed

Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...

in place of the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

. In July 1942 the board was dissolved and its functions assumed by the commander-in-chief of the AMF, General Sir

Thomas Blamey Field marshal (Australia), Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey, (24 January 1884 – 27 May 1951) was an Australian general of the First World War, First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to attain the rank of field marshal. Bl ...

. The board was re-established in March 1946, and again came under the Department of Defence in November 1973. The Military Board was dissolved in February 1976.

Notes

{{reflist, 30em Australian Army