The Australian Commonwealth Military Forces came into being on 1 March 1901 and all the colonial forces — including those still in South Africa — became part of the new force . 28 @,@ 923 colonial soldiers , including 1 @,@ 457 professional soldiers , 18 @,@ 603 paid militia and 8 @,@ 863 unpaid volunteers , were subsequently transferred . The individual units continued to be administered under the various colonial Acts until the Defence Act 1903 brought all the units under one piece of legislation . This Act also prevented the raising of standing infantry units and specified that militia forces could not be used in industrial disputes or serve outside Australia . However , the majority of soldiers remained in militia units , known as the Citizen Military Forces ( CMF ) . Major General Sir Edward Hutton — a former commander of the New South Wales Military Forces — subsequently became the first commander of the Commonwealth Military Forces on 26 December and set to work devising an integrated structure for the new army . In 1911 , following a report by Lord Kitchener the Royal Military College , Duntroon was established , as was a system of universal National Service .