The Northern Command is a joint operational

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

formation. Northern Command is responsible for the planning and conduct of operations to the north of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

during peacetime and wartime. In addition, Northern Command manages the defence aspects of the multi-agency

Maritime Border Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actors ...

. The command's surveillance units include the three army Regional Force Surveillance Units:

Norforce The NORFORCE (North-West Mobile Force) is an infantry regiment of the Australian Army Reserve. Formed in 1981, the regiment is one of three Regional Force Surveillance Units (RFSUs) employed in surveillance and reconnaissance of the remote areas ...

, the Pilbara Regiment in Western Australia, and the 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment. Northern Command's area of operations covers

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

above 19 degrees south and the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

and

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

Districts of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. Northern Command's headquarters are located at

Larrakeyah Barracks Larrakeyah Barracks, incorporating , is the main base for the Australian Defence Force in the Northern Territory of Australia, and occupies the headland west of the suburb of Larrakeyah, Northern Territory, Larrakeyah in the capital, Darwin, No ...

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...

Roles and responsibilities

The Northern Command's roles and responsibilities include the following, as of 2003: * the conduct of military surveillance and response operations * direct, coordinate and support all Defence Aid to the Civil Community activities * facilitate support to Defence Force Aid to the Civil Authority * re-establish and maintain military operational links with military counterparts in Eastern Indonesia. s of 2007 the nearest Indonesian TNI regional command was Kodam IX/Udayana.">Kodam_IX_Udayana.html" ;"title="s of 2007 the nearest Indonesian TNI regional command was Kodam IX/Udayana">s of 2007 the nearest Indonesian TNI regional command was Kodam IX/Udayana.* act as the ADF single point of contact for, and coordinate ADF liaison with the NT Government * coordinate ADF liaison with Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local Govt Agencies, NGOs, other agencies and organisations, and the community * facilitate industry and commercial support to ADF operations and exercises.

References

Commands of the Australian Defence Force">Commands of the Australian Defence Force Military units in Northern Territory Military units and formations established in the 1990s {{Australia-mil-stub