[2] In 1980, however, the current name—Australian Army Reserve—was officially adopted, and it now consists of a number of components based around the level of commitment and training obligation that its members are required to meet.

[3] Following the end of World War II, however, this focus gradually shifted due to the changing strategic environment, and the requirement for a higher readiness force available to support collective security goals.

Nevertheless, the official transfer of forces from the states to the Commonwealth occurred on 1 March 1901, and this date is today celebrated as the birthday of the modern Australian Army.

[11] Amidst a background of political manoeuvring and personal agendas, the military forces were eventually reorganised into a more or less unified command structure.

The review also validated the compulsory military training scheme that was to be introduced in 1910, which was directly responsible for expanding the Citizen Forces by up to 50 percent in the three years prior to the outbreak of World War I.

[6] Separately then-Brigadier Kenneth Mackay CB VD was appointed to draw up plans for the Australian Army Reserve in 1915, and became its first director-general in 1916.

[15][16][17] Undoubtedly, the scheme proved to have numerous benefits, as many[Note 3][6] of these youths went on to serve in the First AIF during World War I and the expanded organisation allowed citizen forces officers more experience in commanding formed bodies of men.

[18] During the precautionary stage on 2 August 1914, Citizen Forces units were called up to guard essential points and man coastal forts and harbour defences.

[21] Following the end of World War I, the units that had been raised as part of the AIF were disbanded, and the focus of Australian defence planning returned once more to the maintenance of the Citizen Forces.

To this end, a review of defence requirements in 1920 established the need for Australia to be able to field a force of approximately 270,000 men in the event of a war, of which half of this would be maintained in peacetime through compulsory enlistment,[22] i.e. in essence a form of national service.

[23][24] There was little support for compulsory military service amongst the public, however, and combined with the financial pressure that the government felt at that time to reduce defence spending, the 1920 recommendations were not fully implemented.

[22] In 1929, following the election of the Scullin Labor government, the compulsory training scheme was abolished and in its place a new system was introduced whereby the CMF would be maintained on a part-time, voluntary basis only.

[27] The result of this change in recruitment policy was a huge drop in the size of the Army, as numbers fell by almost 20,000 in one year as there was little prospect for training and as the financial difficulties of the Great Depression began to be felt.

[25] As a result, in 1930 the decision was made to disband or amalgamate a number of units and five infantry battalions and two light horse regiments were removed from the order of battle.

[32][33] Following the outbreak of the war in Europe, the government's immediate response was to announce on 5 September 1939 that it would begin calling up 10,000 militiamen at a time to provide sixteen days continuous service manning guard posts at selected points around the country.

Nevertheless, for a period of time the government attempted to limit the number of militiamen transferring across to the AIF to build defences at home against concerns that Britain might not be able to fulfil its pledge to defend Singapore in the event of an attack there by the Japanese.

[Note 4][37] This changed dramatically, however, following the entry of Japan into the war on 8 December 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbor and on the British forces in Malaya.

[38][39][40] Seeing the threat that the Japanese posed to British and Australian interests in the region, the government had begun to bring AIF units back from the Middle East.

These units offered special conditions of service for men who could not meet their training requirements through normal attendance due to their occupation or place of residence.

[61] The subordinate relationship between the CMF and Regular Army was further underlined when the national service scheme was re-introduced in 1965, albeit in the guise of a selective ballot.

[63] Despite this, however, potential conscripts were given the option to voluntarily enlist in the CMF prior to their date of birth being announced, thus exempting them from being drafted for overseas service.

[64] This led to a widespread public perception that the CMF was a refuge for "draft dodgers", and to the creation of an organisation in which the majority of its members had little or no motivation to fulfil their training obligations.

[69] Other issues such as pay and conditions of service, protection of civilian employment and recruitment and retention were touched upon but remained largely unaddressed until more recently.

The majority of the personnel were Reservists who undertook a period of twelve months full-time service before returning to normal Reserve status for a further four years.

As a result, in the initial phase of the operation there were only 100 Reservists available to fill positions in INTERFET, mostly in specialist roles that the Regular Army had trouble providing.

[75] With a total strength in 2005–06 of just 15,579 active personnel, recruitment and retention remain an ongoing issue for Defence planners, nevertheless Reservists continue to have a high training obligation.

[Note 9][79][80] Since September 2006, in an incentive to rectify sliding retention rates, Reservist salaries have been streamlined with those of regular forces as a reflection of overall higher standard of training.

[83] In late 2008 a company from the 1st Commando Regiment became the first formed Army Reserve unit to see combat since World War II when it was deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Australian Special Operations Task Group.

[84] The initial deployment proved problematic however, with a subsequent inquiry finding that the company had received less support for its pre-deployment preparations than was typical for regular units and that its training was inadequate.

The Army has stated that the reserves' role will become "to deliver specified capability and support and sustain Australian Defence Force (ADF) preparedness and operations".