[1] It grew out of the Rationalist Association of New South Wales and the Victorian Socialist Party, and was led by former Rhodes scholar Percy Stephensen and Adela Pankhurst.

[5] In January 1942, the ailing Miles transferred editorship of The Publicist to his co-author Stephensen, and had no involvement in the Australia First Movement, dying later that year.

[11] Its first public meeting was held at the Australian Hall on 5 November 1941 with Stephensen and Walsh as the keynote speakers, reportedly attracting 212 attendees although a number of these were undercover police.

[16] As the movement expanded into other states, the Victorian branch of the Commonwealth Security Service assessed the AFM as a "pro-Fascist, pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic organisation".

[15] On 25 November 1941, Labor MP Max Falstein referred to the AFM in federal parliament as an "anti-war, anti-democratic, and pro-fascist organisation" and requested Attorney-General H. V. Evatt conduct a review of the movement.

New South Wales premier William McKell wrote to Prime Minister John Curtin a day later asking for the AFM's activities to be restricted.

[17] An initial review of the movement by Evatt and Eric Longfield Lloyd concluded that the AFM seemed to comprise "old or ageing and eccentric persons with a zest for taking the unpopular side in discussions" and suggested its leadership only receive an official reprimand.

[19] In March 1942, four members of the Australia First Movement in Perth, and sixteen in Sydney, were arrested, based on the suspicion that they would provide help to Japanese invaders.