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70.1 Constituent Elements of the 'Defence Force'

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The term 'Defence Force' is used extensively in the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, but is not defined in that Act or in the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. The meaning of the term can, however, be discerned by reference to Part III of the Defence Act 1903, which constitutes the Defence Force:

The Defence Force consists of three arms, namely, the Australian Navy, the Australian Army and the Australian Air Force.

The Defence Force (ADF) comprises:

  • the Australian Army, consisting of the Regular Army (previously the 'Permanent Military Forces') and the Army Reserve
  • the Australian Navy, consisting of the Permanent Navy (previously the 'Permanent Naval Forces') and the Naval Reserve, and
  • the Australian Air Force, consisting of the Permanent Air Force and the Air Force Reserve.

Members of the Reserves who are in their period of full-time service generally are treated, for compensation purposes, on the same basis as full-time members of the Permanent Forces.