Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)

Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)
Incumbent	David Hurley

Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) is the most senior appointment in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The CDF commands the ADF under the direction of the Minister of Defence. The appointment shares control of the Australian Defence Organisation in a coequal arrangement (a "diarchy") with the Secretary of Defence, the most senior public servant in the Department of Defence.

The position is a fixed-term appointment of three years, and is notionally rotated between the three services (Navy, Army and Air Force). However in practice this has not been the case: of eighteen appointees, ten have been from the Army, five from the Navy and three from the Air Force.

During peacetime, the CDF is the only four-star officer in the ADF (admiral, general, or air chief marshal). He is assisted by the Vice Chief of the Defence Force and the individual service chiefs—Chief of Navy, Chief of Army, and Chief of Air Force—all of whom are three-star officers (vice admiral, lieutenant general, or air marshal).

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.

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

Rank and pre-nominal	Name	post-nominal(s)	Service	Term began	Term ended	Time in appointment
Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee
Lieutenant General Sir	Wells, HenryHenry Wells	KBE, CB, DSO	Army	000000001958-03-23-0000March 23, 1958	000000001959-03-22-0000March 22, 1959	50000000000000000000 years, 7002364000000000000364 days
Vice Admiral Sir	Dowling, RoyRoy Dowling	KBE, CB, DSO, RAN	Navy	000000001959-03-23-0000March 23, 1959	000000001961-05-27-0000May 27, 1961	70002000000000000002 years, 700165000000000000065 days
Air Chief Marshal Sir	Scherger, FrederickFrederick Scherger	KBE, CB, DSO, AFC	Air Force	000000001961-05-28-0000May 28, 1961	000000001966-05-18-0000May 18, 1966	70004000000000000004 years, 7002355000000000000355 days
General Sir	Wilton, JohnJohn Wilton	KBE, CB, DSO	Army	000000001966-05-19-0000May 19, 1966	000000001970-11-22-0000November 22, 1970	70004000000000000004 years, 7002187000000000000187 days
Admiral Sir	Smith, VictorVictor Smith	AC, KBE, CB, DSC, RAN	Navy	000000001970-11-23-0000November 23, 1970	000000001975-11-23-0000November 23, 1975	70005000000000000005 years, 50000000000000000000 days
General	Hassett, FrankFrank Hassett	AC, CB, CBE, DSO, LVO	Army	000000001975-11-24-0000November 24, 1975	000000001976-02-08-0000February 8, 1976	50000000000000000000 years, 700176000000000000076 days
Chief of Defence Force Staff
General Sir	Hassett, FrankFrank Hassett	AC, KBE, CB, DSO, LVO	Army	000000001976-02-09-0000February 9, 1976	000000001977-04-20-0000April 20, 1977	70001000000000000001 year, 700170000000000000070 days
General Sir	MacDonald, ArthurArthur MacDonald	KBE, CB	Army	000000001977-04-21-0000April 21, 1977	000000001979-04-20-0000April 20, 1979	70001000000000000001 year, 7002364000000000000364 days
Admiral Sir	Synnot, AnthonyAnthony Synnot	KBE, AO, RAN	Navy	000000001979-04-21-0000April 21, 1979	000000001982-04-20-0000April 20, 1982	70002000000000000002 years, 7002364000000000000364 days
Air Chief Marshal Sir	McNamara, NevilleNeville McNamara	KBE, AO, AFC, AE	Air Force	000000001982-04-21-0000April 21, 1982	000000001984-04-12-0000April 12, 1984	70001000000000000001 year, 7002357000000000000357 days
General Sir	Bennett, PhillipPhillip Bennett	AC, KBE, DSO	Army	000000001984-04-13-0000April 13, 1984	000000001984-10-25-0000October 25, 1984	50000000000000000000 years, 7002195000000000000195 days
Chief of the Defence Force
General Sir	Bennett, PhillipPhillip Bennett	AC, KBE, DSO	Army	000000001984-10-26-0000October 26, 1984	000000001987-04-12-0000April 12, 1987	70002000000000000002 years, 7002168000000000000168 days
General	Gration, PeterPeter Gration	AC, OBE	Army	000000001987-04-13-0000April 13, 1987	000000001993-04-16-0000April 16, 1993	70006000000000000006 years, 70003000000000000003 days
Admiral	Beaumont, AlanAlan Beaumont	AC, RAN	Navy	000000001993-04-17-0000April 17, 1993	000000001995-07-06-0000July 6, 1995	70002000000000000002 years, 700180000000000000080 days
General	Baker, JohnJohn Baker	AC, DSM	Army	000000001995-07-07-0000July 7, 1995	000000001998-07-03-0000July 3, 1998	70002000000000000002 years, 7002361000000000000361 days
Admiral	Barrie, ChrisChris Barrie	AC, RAN	Navy	000000001998-07-04-0000July 4, 1998	000000002002-07-03-0000July 3, 2002	70003000000000000003 years, 7002364000000000000364 days
General	Cosgrove, PeterPeter Cosgrove	AC, MC	Army	000000002002-07-04-0000July 4, 2002	000000002005-07-03-0000July 3, 2005	70002000000000000002 years, 7002364000000000000364 days
Air Chief Marshal	Houston, AngusAngus Houston	AC, AFC	Air Force	000000002005-07-04-0000July 4, 2005	000000002011-07-03-0000July 3, 2011	70005000000000000005 years, 7002364000000000000364 days
General	Hurley, DavidDavid Hurley	AC, DSC	Army	000000002011-07-04-0000July 4, 2011	Incumbent	70002000000000000002 years, 70033942000000000003,942 days

On 19 March 2008, it was announced that Air Chief Marshal Houston's appointment had been extended to 3 July 2011.

On 1 June 2011, it was announced that Air Chief Marshal Houston's appointment would cease on 3 July 2011. Prime Minister Julia Gillard recommended to the Governor-General that Lieutenant General David Hurley take over as Chief of the Defence Force effective 4 July 2011.

Living current and former Chiefs of the Defence Force

Rank	Name	Born
Air Chief Marshal	Sir Neville McNamara, KBE, AO, AFC, AE	17 April 1923 (1923-04-17) (age 101)
General	Sir Phillip Bennett, AC, KBE, DSO	27 December 1928 (1928-12-27) (age 95)
General	Peter Gration, AC, OBE	6 January 1932 (1932-01-06) (age 92)
Admiral	Chris Barrie, AC, RAN	29 May 1945 (1945-05-29) (age 78)
General	Peter Cosgrove, AC, MC	28 July 1947 (1947-07-28) (age 76)
Air Chief Marshal	Angus Houston, AC, AFC	9 June 1947 (1947-06-09) (age 76)
General	David Hurley, AC, DSC	26 August 1953 (1953-08-26) (age 70)

Timeline

Images – Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee

Sir Henry Wells
(1958–1959)

Sir Roy Dowling
(1959–1961)

Sir Frederick Scherger
(1961–1966)

Images – Chief of Defence Force Staff

Sir Neville McNamara
(1982–1984)

Sir Phillip Bennett
(1984–1984)

Images – Chief of the Defence Force

Sir Phillip Bennett
(1984–1987)

Peter Cosgrove
(2002–2005)

Angus Houston
(2005–2011)

David Hurley
(2011–Present)

References

• Australian Government. "Department of Defence". Commonwealth of Australia. http://www.defence.gov.au/index.htm. 
• Horner, David (2002). "The Evolution of Australian Higher Command Arrangements". Command Papers. Centre for Defence Leadership Studies, Australian Defence College. http://www.defence.gov.au/adc/cdclms/Command%20evolution.doc.