 By May 1919 , the last troops were out of France , and 70 @,@ 000 were encamped on Salisbury Plain . The men returned home on a " first come , first go " basis , with the process overseen by Monash in Britain and Chauvel in Cairo . Many of the soldiers undertook government @-@ funded training in civilian occupations while awaiting repatriation to Australia . Only 10 @,@ 000 Australian soldiers remained in England by September . Monash , the senior Australian commander , was repatriated on 26 December 1919 . The last transport organised to repatriate troops was H.T. Naldera , which departed London on 13 April 1920 . The AIF officially ceased to exist on 1 April 1921 , and on 1 July 1921 the military hospitals in Australia passed into civilian hands . As a volunteer force , all units were demobilised at the end of the war . Australia 's part @-@ time military force , the Citizens Force , was subsequently reorganised to replicate the AIF 's divisional structure and the numerical designations of many of its units to perpetuate their identities and battle honours . 
