 Some Australians decided to delay their departure and instead joined the British Army and went on to serve in Northern Russia during the Russian Civil War , although officially the Australian government refused to contribute forces to the campaign . HMAS Yarra , Torrens , Swan and Parramatta served in the Black Sea during the same conflict . Elsewhere , in Egypt in early 1919 , a number of Australian light horse units were used to quell a nationalist uprising while they were waiting for passage back to Australia . Despite shortages in shipping , the process of returning the soldiers to Australia was completed faster than expected and by September 1919 there were 10 @,@ 000 men still left in Britain waiting for repatriation . The last of the main transports conveying Australian troops left England on 23 December 1919 , arriving in Australia in early 1920 . A year later , on 1 April 1921 , the AIF was officially disbanded . 
