Designs for the AWM were created by Emil Sodersten and John Crust, although the onset of the Great Depression delayed its construction.

Several structures designed by Denton Corker Marshall were built on the grounds from the 1980s to 2000s, to house additional museum exhibits and administrative offices.

[4] In 1923, the Commonwealth Government officially announced its intentions to build a national war memorial, with the AWM being formally established through legislation in 1925.

[9] In 1975, its scope was expanded again to allow for the commemoration of Australians who died as a result of war, even those who had not served with an armed forces from Australia.

These plans have been heavily criticised due to architectural awards ANZAC Hall has received, the buildings short life-span before demolition (as it was only opened in 2001) and significant cost.

[15][16] Also involved in the expansion is an extension to the CEW Bean Building, and the refurbishment of the museum's southern entrance and Parade Ground.

It is situated on the symbolic terminus of the land axis of Walter Burley Griffin's plan for Canberra, at the base of Mount Ainslie.

[25] It is positioned at the northern terminus of Anzac Parade, which aligns with the land axis of central Canberra's design.

[25] This axis runs from the peak of Mount Ainslie in the northeast to Capital Hill, in the southwest, a distance of 5.2 kilometres (3.2 mi).

The AWM's positioning along this axis was deliberate to reflect its national importance and provide it with a clear line of sight to Parliament House and vice versa.

[29] The Parade Ground was redeveloped in 2004 to improve access for ceremonial events, with sandstone terraces and a forecourt surrounding the Stone of Remembrance.

[30] In 2021, the Stone of Remembrance was temporarily relocated to the AWM's western courtyard to accommodate construction for the museum's expansion.

[1] The building was designed in an Art Deco style, with Byzantine and Egyptian motifs in its interpenetrating masses and pylons at its front.

[5] In 1937, the AWM's board commissioned Napier Waller to create large-scale murals and mosaics for the building, and Leslie Bowles to produce designs for a large-shaped sculpture.

The entrance to the courtyard is flanked by lion statues from the original Menin Gate, donated to the Australian War Memorial by the Mayor of Ypres in 1936.

[38] A granite cascade by Robert Woodward was added to the northern end of the pool in 1980, which was later replaced by an eternal flame in 1988.

Four 11 metres (36 ft) pillars designed by Janet Laurence are placed behind the Tomb in front of a stained glass window, where Ewer's statue once stood.

Over six million glass tiles were imported from Italy to complete the mosaic compositions of an airman, sailor, servicewoman, and soldier.

Previously it was intended to contain the Roll of Honour, but for cost reasons this was located in the courtyard in the final design.

This left the purpose of the Hall uncertain, with Commonwealth Director of Works JS Murdoch recommending in the late 1920s a statute "symbolising the effect of war on civilisation".

[citation needed] Treloar suggested a stone of remembrance and a cross of sacrifice similar to those of the Imperial War graves where visitors could lay wreaths.

"[43] On the opening of the Memorial in 1941, the Hall was planned to contain a "female figure, raised beyond a sarcophagus, symbolising Australia proudly and courageously giving her all in the cause of freedom and honour".

The RSL reversed its position in 1970, but the board of the Memorial was opposed stating that a tomb "too late, and verging on the macabre".

On Remembrance Day that year, prime minister Paul Keating participated in the ceremony of the internment with a lauded speech in which he declared "He is all of them.

Historians James Curran and Stuart Ward suggests that part of the impetus for a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after so many years was the incongruousness of Australian Serviceman, "arguable the last monument to muscular imperial manhood ever erected in Australia" to Australians who now longer identified with the imperial ideal and instead looked for symbols more in keeping with Australia's new independent status.

These interconnected galleries formerly had a skylight running its full length, although this was later covered up to protect items on display from exposure.

The remains of a mosaic from a Byzantine church uncovered by Australian soldiers during the Second Battle of Gaza are also installed in the Hall of Valour.

As of 2022, a total of 25 memorials or sculptures have been installed within the grounds of the AWM, and over 150 plaques which commemorate individual unit associations can be found in the gardens.

A story about an individual on the memorial's Roll of Honour is then read aloud by a volunteer from the Australian Defence Force.

[55] Only five percent of the AWM's collection is displayed at any time, with the remainder being stored at the Treloar Resource Centre in the industrial suburb of Mitchell.