Australia also provided artillery and engineer support , along with an air @-@ field construction squadron . The Royal Australian Navy also served in Malayan waters , firing on suspected communist positions between 1956 and 1957 . The Emergency was the longest continued commitment in Australian military history ; 7 @,@ 000 Australians served and 51 died in Malaya — although only 15 were on operations — and another 27 were wounded .