The British Naval officers stationed in Australia taught the locals the game of hockey and laid the foundations for a sport which Australians have developed and mastered.

This coincided with the creation of the Australian Hockey League in 1991 (Men) and 1993 (Women) which became the flagship National Competition.

The Under 21 National Championships followed a full round-robin and semi-final (1st v 4th, 2nd v 3rd), winners play in the Gold Medal match until 2014.

In the 2018 Men's Championship[52] it meant that Tasmania who lost all three pool games were able to win three knockout matches and be crowned National Champions.

The Under 18 National Championships followed a full round-robin and semi-final (1st v 4th, 2nd v 3rd), winners play in the Gold Medal match until 2014.

From 2010 to 2013 Hockey Australia did not play a finals series, so the winners were the teams ranked highest on the ladder after the round-robin competition.

Prior to this, an invitational event was run and sanctioned by Hockey Australia but did not hold National Championship status.

Matches are also shortened to 20-minute halves with a full round-robin, with teams required to often play double headers (two games) in one day.