It is usually referred to as simply "hockey" and is played in winter, with a season typically starting in March and April.

In the late 1800s, Australia didn't have a navy and relied on the British to defend their coastlines, this meant that many british games were brought in by the military personnel who were stationed there, one of them being hockey.

In 1927, the AWHA became a founding member of the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations, alongside Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, the United States and Wales, which in 1982 merged with the International Hockey Federation.

Hockey One is a small league, with only a single men's team and a single women's team from each of the eight states and territories, but it produces excellent results, when measured by the performance of the national squad.

The Kookaburras, the men's national team have won 1 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze at the Olympics, as well as 10 World Hockey Cup medals, 6 Commonwealth Games gold medals, 30 Hockey Champions Trophy medals, and one Men's FIH Pro League championship.