The premiership was won by the Port Melbourne Football Club, which defeated Coburg by 19 points in the Grand Final on 4 October.

It was Port Melbourne's fifth VFA premiership, and its second in a row.

World War II had commenced in Europe in September 1939, and for the second consecutive season the Association opted to proceed with a full premiership season.

[1] Many Association players had enlisted in the war effort, and the Sandringham Football Club elected to operate on an amateur basis for the season.

[2] The home-and-home season was played over twenty matches, before the top four clubs contested a finals series under the Page–McIntyre system to determine the premiers for the season.