Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)

Chief of the Australian Defence Force
Incumbent Mark Binskin since 30 June 2014
Style	Admiral General Air Chief Marshal
Member of	Australian Defence Force
Reports to	Minister of Defence
Term length	Four years (renewable)
Inaugural holder	Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wells
Formation	23 March 1958

The Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) is the professional head of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Minister of Defence. The CDF commands the ADF under the direction of the Minister of Defence and provides advice on matters that relate to military activity, including military operations. In a diarchy with the Secretary of the Department of Defence, the CDF shares control of the Australian Defence Organisation. The CDF is the Australian equivalent position of what in NATO and the European Union is known as the Chief of Defence, 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, although with the latter prohibited by law from having operational command authority over the US Armed Forces.

Constitutionally, the Sovereign's Australian representative, the Governor-General of Australia, is the de jure Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. However, in practice, the Australian Government de facto exercises executive 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 Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force. 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 Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin.

During peacetime, the Chief of the Defence Force is the only four-star officer in the ADF (admiral, general, or air chief marshal). The CDF is assisted by the Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) and 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, and air marshal).

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.

Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wells, the first Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee

Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger, the first Defence chief promoted to four-star rank

General Sir Phillip Bennett, the first CDF and the last Defence chief knighted in office

Rank	Name	Post-nominals	Service	Term began	Term ended	Time in appointment
Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee
Lieutenant General	Sir Henry Wells	KBE, CB, DSO, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	23 March 1958	22 March 1959
Vice Admiral	Sir Roy Dowling	KBE, CB, DSO, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	23 March 1959	27 May 1961
Air Chief Marshal	Sir Frederick Scherger	KBE, CB, DSO, AFC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAAF	28 May 1961	18 May 1966
General	Sir John Wilton	KBE, CB, DSO, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	19 May 1966	22 November 1970
Admiral	Sir Victor Smith	AC, KBE, CB, DSC, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	23 November 1970	23 November 1975
General	Frank Hassett	AC, CB, CBE, DSO, LVO, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	24 November 1975	8 February 1976
Chief of Defence Force Staff
General	Sir Frank Hassett	AC, KBE, CB, DSO, LVO, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	9 February 1976	20 April 1977
General	Sir Arthur MacDonald	KBE, CB, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	21 April 1977	20 April 1979
Admiral	Sir Anthony Synnot	KBE, AO, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	21 April 1979	20 April 1982
Air Chief Marshal	Sir Neville McNamara	KBE, AO, AFC, AE, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAAF	21 April 1982	12 April 1984
General	Sir Phillip Bennett	AC, KBE, DSO, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	13 April 1984	25 October 1984
Chief of the Defence Force
General	Sir Phillip Bennett	AC, KBE, DSO, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	26 October 1984	12 April 1987
General	Peter Gration	AC, OBE, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	13 April 1987	16 April 1993
Admiral	Alan Beaumont	AC, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	17 April 1993	6 July 1995
General	John Baker	AC, DSM, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	7 July 1995	3 July 1998
Admiral	Chris Barrie	AC, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	4 July 1998	3 July 2002
General	Peter Cosgrove	AC, MC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	4 July 2002	3 July 2005
Air Chief Marshal	Angus Houston	AC, AFC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAAF	4 July 2005	3 July 2011
General	David Hurley	AC, DSC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	4 July 2011	30 June 2014
Air Chief Marshal	Mark Binskin	AC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAAF	30 June 2014	Incumbent	1 years, days

Living current and former Chiefs of the Defence Force

Rank	Name	Born
General	Sir Philip 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	The Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK, MC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	28 July 1947 (1947-07-28) (age 76)
Air Chief Marshal	Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	9 June 1947 (1947-06-09) (age 76)
General	The Honourable David Hurley AC, DSC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	26 August 1953 (1953-08-26) (age 70)
Air Chief Marshal	Mark Binskin AC	20 March 1960 (1960-03-20) (age 64)

Timeline