Australian Defence Force ranks and insignia

This article lists the ranks of officers

Officer (armed forces)

An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

and enlisted personnel in the Australian Defence Force (ADF)

Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...

's three service branches.

The ADF comprises the:

Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

(RAN)
Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...

(RAAF)

The three Australian services inherited their rank structures from their British counterparts

British Armed Forces

The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...

. The insignia used to identify these ranks are also generally similar to those used in the British Armed Forces.

The following tables show the "Equivalent rank and classifications" for the three services, as defined in PACMAN, ADF Pay and Conditions Manual, Vol.2, Chap.1, Part.4, pg.1, sections 1.4.1 and 1.4.2, Edition AL13 (November 2009), People Strategies and Policy, Australian Department of Defence. "Equivalent rank" means the corresponding rank set out under Regulation 8 of the Defence Force Regulations 1952.

Officer ranks

NATO Code Ranks and insignia of NATO Ranks and insignia of NATO are combined military insignia used by the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.The rank scale is used for specifying posts within NATO.-Definitions:...	Aus/US Code	NAVY	ARMY	RAAF
General/Flag officers
OF-10	O-11	Admiral of the Fleet Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Australian Navy) Admiral of the Fleet is the highest rank in the Royal Australian Navy, but is a ceremonial, not active or operational, rank. It equates to the rank code O-11. Equivalent ranks in the other services are Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force...	Field Marshal Field Marshal (Australia) Field Marshal is the highest rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of field marshal. A five-star rank, the equivalent ranks in the other armed services are Admiral of the Fleet and Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force...	Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force
OF-9	O-10	Admiral Admiral (Australia) Admiral is the highest active rank of the Royal Australian Navy and was created as a direct equivalent of the British Navy rank of Admiral. It is a four-star rank. Since World War II, in general, the only time the rank is held is when the Chief of the Defence Force is a Navy officer.Admiral is a...	General General (Australia) General is the second highest rank, and the highest active rank, of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of General; it is also considered a four-star rank....	Air Chief Marshal
OF-8	O-9	Vice Admiral Vice Admiral (Australia) Vice admiral is the second-highest active rank of the Royal Australian Navy and was created as a direct equivalent of the British rank of vice admiral. It is a three-star rank...	Lieutenant General Lieutenant General (Australia) Lieutenant general is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a three-star rank....	Air Marshal Air Marshal (Australia) Air marshal is the second highest active rank of the Royal Australian Air Force and was created as a direct equivalent of the British Royal Air Force rank of air marshal, it is also considered a three-star rank...
OF-7	O-8	Rear Admiral	Major General Major General (Australia) Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...	Air Vice Marshal
OF-6	O-7 O-3 ranks - Chaplains are commissioned officers without rank, however they are accorded the rank of Captain (O-3) for reasons of protocol, ceremonial occasions and for saluting purposes. O-4/5 ranks - The more senior division 2 and 3 chaplains are accorded the rank of Major (O-4) and Lieutenant Colonel (O-5), respectively. O-6 ranks - The three Principal Chaplains representing the three major Christian denominations: Catholic Catholic The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"... , Anglican, and Protestant, are equivalent to a Colonel (O-6). O-7 ranks - The heads of the various churches and religions officially associated to the ADF's Religious Advisory Committee, such as the Anglican and Catholic Bishops of the Military, are equivalent to a Brigadier (O-7).	Commodore	—	Air Commodore
Senior Officers
OF-6	O-7	—	Brigadier	—
OF-5	O-6	Captain (RAN)	Colonel	Group Captain
OF-4	O-5	Commander	Lieutenant Colonel	Wing Commander
OF-3	O-4	Lieutenant Commander	Major	Squadron Leader
Junior Officers
OF-2	O-3	Lieutenant	Captain (Army)	Flight Lieutenant
OF-1	O-2	Sub Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying Officer
OF-1	O-1	Acting Sub Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant	Pilot Officer
Cadets
-	-	Midshipman	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet

Non-commissioned ranks

NATO Code Ranks and insignia of NATO Ranks and insignia of NATO are combined military insignia used by the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.The rank scale is used for specifying posts within NATO.-Definitions:...	Aus/US Code	NAVY	ARMY	RAAF
Warrant Officers
OR-9	E-9	Warrant Officer of the Navy	Warrant Officer (RSM of the Army)	Warrant Officer of the Air Force
OR-9	E-9	Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer Class 1	Warrant Officer
OR-8	E-8	-	Warrant Officer Class 2	-
Senior Non-commissioned Officers
OR-8	E-8	Chief Petty Officer	-	Flight Sergeant
OR-7	E-7	-	Staff Sergeant	-
OR-6	E-6	Petty Officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Junior Non-commissioned Officers
OR-4	E-5	Leading Seaman	Corporal/Bombardier	Corporal
OR-3	E-4	-	Lance Corporal/Lance Bombardier	-
Enlisted
OR-3	E-3	Able Seaman	Private Proficient	Leading Aircraftman/woman
OR-2	E-2	Seaman	Private	Aircraftman/woman

External links

ADF Badges of rank (copyright)

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Officer ranks

Non-commissioned ranks

See also

External links