Vice Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)

Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force
Incumbent Ray Griggs since 30 June 2014
Style	Vice Admiral Lieutenant General Air Marshal
Member of	Australian Defence Force
Reports to	Chief of the Defence Force
Term length	Four years (renewable)
Inaugural holder	Air Marshal Ray Funnell
Formation	6 June 1986

The Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) is the military deputy to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) of Australia, and acts as the CDF in his absence under standing acting arrangements.

Created in 1986, the VCDF is a three-star officer in the Australian Defence Force (lieutenant general, vice admiral, or air marshal). The position's standing responsibilities include: Joint Doctrine, Education, Training and Evaluation; Joint Logistics; Reserve Policy; and Joint Capabilities, Commitments and Concepts. When acting as Chief of the Defence Force, the VCDF attends the National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSCC) and Secretary’s Committee on National Security (SCNS).

The appointment is made by the Governor General on the advice of his/her ministers under Section 9AA of the Defence Act (1903) and is for a fixed term of four years, nominally rotated between the three services, Navy, Army and Air Force; however in practice this has not been the case and the appointment has been held for longer or shorter periods of time. The role is politically neutral, as are all military positions, and is not affected by a change of government.

Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, the incumbent VCDF, has held the position since 30 June 2014.

Vice Chief of the Defence Force Group

The Vice Chief of the Defence Force Group is responsible for the provision of military strategic effects and commitments advice and planning, joint military professional education and training, logistics support, health support, ADF cadet and reserve policy, joint capability coordination, preparedness management, and joint and combined ADF doctrine.

Appointees

The following list chronologically records those who have held the post of Vice Chief of the Defence Force. Rank and honours are as at the completion of the individual's term.

Rank	Name	Postnominals	Service	Term began	Term ended	Time in Appointment
Air Marshal	Ray Funnell	AO	RAAF	6 June 1986	January 1987
Vice Admiral	Ian Knox	AC, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	January 1987	16 September 1989
Vice Admiral	Alan Beaumont	AC, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	16 September 1989	October 1992
Lieutenant General	John Baker	AC	Army	October 1992	April 1995
Vice Admiral	Robert Walls	AO, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	April 1995	March 1997
Vice Admiral	Chris Barrie	AC, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	March 1997	3 July 1998
Air Marshal	Douglas Riding	AO, DFC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAAF	3 July 1998	5 June 2000
Lieutenant General	Desmond Mueller	AO	Army	5 June 2000	15 July 2002
Vice Admiral	Russ Shalders	AO, CSC, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	15 July 2002	4 July 2005
Lieutenant General	Ken Gillespie	AO, DSC, CSM, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	4 July 2005	3 July 2008
Lieutenant General	David Hurley	AC, DSC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	Army	4 July 2008	3 July 2011
Air Marshal	Mark Binskin	AC	RAAF	4 July 2011	30 June 2014
Vice Admiral	Ray Griggs	AO, CSC, RAN, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,	RAN	30 June 2014	Incumbent

Timeline

Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS)

Main article: Chief of Joint Operations (Australia)

Until September 2007, the VCDF was "double hatted" as the Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS). In this role he commanded Australian Defence Force operations on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Force. In September 2007, The (Liberal) Minister of Defence, Brendan Nelson announced the formation of a separate three-star CJOPS position based at the Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) facility at Bungendore, New South Wales.