 After the AIF was transferred to the European battlefield , the training system was greatly improved . Efforts were made at standardisation , with a formal training organisation and curriculum — consisting of 14 weeks basic training for infantrymen — being established . In Egypt , as the AIF was expanded in early 1916 , each brigade established a training battalion . These formations were later sent to the United Kingdom and were absorbed into a large system of depots that was established on Salisbury Plain by each branch of the AIF including infantry , engineers , artillery , signals , medical and logistics . After completing their initial instruction at depots in Australia and the United Kingdom , soldiers were posted to in @-@ theatre base depots where they received advanced training before being posted as reinforcements to operational units . Like the British Army , the AIF sought to rapidly pass on " lessons learned " as the war progressed , and these were widely transmitted through regularly updated training documents . The experience gained through combat also improved the skills of the surviving officers and men , and by 1918 the AIF was a very well trained and well led force . After coming to terms with the conditions on the Western Front the Australians had played a part in the development of new combined arms tactics for offensive operations that occurred within the BEF , while in defence they employed patrolling , trench raids , and Peaceful Penetration tactics to dominate no man 's land . 
