Formed in August 1945 at Morotai Island, it consisted of three Australian Imperial Force infantry battalions that were raised for occupation duties in the Dutch East Indies following Japan's surrender.

[6] Its constituent units were raised over the course of several months in mid- to late-1945: the 12th/40th in June 1945 in the Northern Territory, and 63rd and 64th in August 1945 on Morotai.

They arrived at Koepang, in the middle of the month, shortly after the Japanese surrender on 11 September,[10] which took place on board the survey ship HMS Moresby, in Dyke's presence just prior to him handing over as 33rd Brigade commander.

This included collecting Japanese prisoners of war, distributing food and supplies, identifying war criminals and overseeing Japanese security details and work parties, collecting weapons and ammunition, and reconstruction efforts.

At this point, Steele assumed command of the brigade, and deployed an advanced party of 100 troops on Ambon from HMAS Glenelg on 22 September.

[17] On Ambon, Steele took the Japanese surrender from Vice Admiral Ichise Shin'ichi, and carried out his interrogation.