Vice Chief of the Defence Force (Australia) | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Incumbent | Mark Binskin |
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.
The VCDF is a three-star officer in the Australian Defence Force (Lieutenant General, Vice Admiral, or Air Marshal). The position's standing responsibilities include: Joint Doctrine, Education, Training and Evaluation; Joint Logistics; Reserve Policy; and Joint Capabilities, Commitments and Concepts. When acting as Chief of the Defence Force, the VCDF attends the National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSCC) and Secretary’s Committee on National Security (SCNS).[1]
The appointment is made by the Governor General on the advice of his ministers under Section 9AA of the Defence Act (1903) and is for a fixed term of three years, nominally rotated between the three services (Navy, Army and Air Force); however in practice this has not been the case and the appointment has been held for longer or shorter periods of time. The role is politically neutral, as are all military positions, and is not affected by a change of government.
The position of VCDF was created in 1986.
Appointees[]
Rank | Name | Post- Nominals |
Service | Term began | Term ended | Time in Appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Air Marshal | Ray Funnell | AO | RAAF | June 1986[2] | January 1987 | 0 years, 214 days |
Vice Admiral | Ian Knox | AC, RAN | RAN | January 1987 | September 1989 [3] | 2 years, 243 days |
Vice Admiral | Alan Beaumont | AC, RAN | RAN | September 1989[3] | October 1992 | 3 years, 30 days |
Lieutenant General | John Baker | AC | Army | October 1992 | April 1995[4] | 2 years, 182 days |
Vice Admiral | Robert Walls | AO, RAN | RAN | April 1995[4] | March 1997 | 1 year, 334 days |
Vice Admiral | Chris Barrie | AC, RAN | RAN | March 1997 | 3 July 1998[4] | 1 year, 122 days |
Air Marshal | Douglas Riding | AO, DFC | RAAF | 3 July 1998 [4] | July 2000 | 2 years, 0 days |
Lieutenant General | Desmond Mueller | AO | Army | July 2000 | July 2002 | 2 years, 0 days |
Vice Admiral | Russ Shalders | AO, CSC, RAN | RAN | July 2002 | July 2005 | 3 years, 0 days |
Lieutenant General | Ken Gillespie | AO, DSC, CSM | Army | July 2005 | July 2008 | 3 years, 0 days |
Lieutenant General | David Hurley | AC, DSC | Army | July 2008 | July 2011 | 3 years, 0 days |
Air Marshal | Mark Binskin | AO | RAAF | July 2011 | Incumbent | 2 years, 4,242 days |
Timeline[]

Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS)[]
Until September 2007, the VCDF was "double hatted" as the Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS). In this role he commanded Australian Defence Force operations on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Force. In September 2007, The (Liberal) Minister of Defence, Brendan Nelson announced the formation of a separate three-star CJOPS position based at the Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) facility at Bungendore, New South Wales.[2][5]
References[]
- ↑ ADF Website (accessed 25 May 2010)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 VADM Shalders (2 April 2003). "Transcript of Speech to RUSI 'The Evolving role of the Vice Chief of the Defence Force'". http://rusi.org.au/transcripts/2003/shalders_02Apr03.htm. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.defence.gov.au/news/navynews/editions/5114/5114.pdf 'Seeing Stars' Navy News, p 11 (accessed 25 May 2010
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 http://www.defence.gov.au/cdf/past_chiefs.htm (accessed 26 May 2010)
- ↑ Minister of Defence Press Release MIN99/07 19 September 2007
The original article can be found at Vice Chief of the Defence Force (Australia) and the edit history here.