It was formed in Melbourne in August 1941 as part of a reorganisation of the air force, and was disbanded after the war in January 1946.

Prior to World War II, the Royal Australian Air Force was small enough for all its elements to be directly controlled by RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne.

After war broke out in September 1939, the RAAF began to decentralise its command structure, commensurate with expected increases in manpower and units.

1 Group, which had been established on 20 November 1939, was re-formed as Southern Area Command on 7 March 1940.

[5] By mid-1941, the RAAF's expanding instructional program necessitated the establishment of overarching training organisations on a semi-functional, semi-geographical basis.