The society was founded in 1940 in Sydney, by a group of students of Australian Catholic history led by Fr (later Archbishop) Eris O'Brien and Sydney solicitor Brian McGrath.

As of 2023[update] the editor is James Franklin of the University of New South Wales.

The Society has a Melbourne chapter which holds occasional talks.

[5] In 2016 the Society held a conference 'To and from the Antipodes: Catholic missionaries over two centuries'.

[6] The Society presents the James MacGinley Award for students and early career researchers writing on Australian Catholic history.