 Later , in December 1942 , the 27th Battalion was transferred from the 3rd Brigade to the 23rd Brigade . This unit had previously been a 2nd AIF unit , but the loss of several of its battalions when they had been deployed to Ambon , Timor and Rabaul , had resulted in it being re @-@ formed with Militia battalions and the 27th joined the 7th and 8th Battalions to round out its establishment . In March 1943 , after having endured several bombings by Japanese aircraft since their arrival in Darwin the previous year , the battalion was replaced in the Darwin garrison and its personnel returned Adelaide for leave . In December , they regrouped on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland for jungle training , as the 23rd Brigade — then part of the 3rd Division — was converted to the jungle establishment , in preparation for them undertaking active service in New Guinea . Around this time the battalion was gazetted as an AIF battalion , meaning that because more than 65 per cent of its personnel had volunteered for service outside of Australian territory , it could be deployed beyond the limits set out in the Defence Act ( 1903 ) . 
