Use terminology correctly

Use the term ‘Defence’ when you mean both the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force (ADF). ‘Defence’ is used to represent the organisation as a whole.

‘Defence’ has an initial capital when it is part of a formal name or title. Use lower case for generic references.

Use ‘Australian Defence Force’ and ‘ADF’ when referring to the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force, commanded by the Chief of the Defence Force.

Use ‘Department of Defence’ when referring to the department, headed by the Secretary of the Department of Defence.

Follow the order of precedence for the 3 arms of the ADF

There are 3 arms of the ADF, known collectively as the ‘services’ (‘Services’ inside Defence). When referring to the services, follow the order of precedence established by the Defence Act 1903:

• Royal Australian Navy
• Australian Army
• Royal Australian Air Force.

Always use initial capitals when writing the short names of the services:

• Navy
• Army
• Air Force.

Address members of the ADF by rank, name and post-nominals

Use the following order to address members of the ADF:

• rank
• given name or initials
• family name
• post-nominals
• service (for commissioned officers in the Navy only).

Do this:

• the first time you write their name in body text
• in address blocks in correspondence
• when introducing an ADF member as speaker
• in official records of proceedings
• in lists in organisational publications such as annual reports.

ADF ranks are listed in the table ‘Ranks and salutations’.

If you mention the name again in body text, use rank and family name.

Only one rank has a hyphen

Write military ranks of more than one word as separate words. Do not hyphenate the rank.

There is one exception from the Air Force: Air Vice-Marshal. It is always hyphenated.

Post-nominals

Post-nominals are letters after a name that stand for academic, civil and military awards and honours.

Write post-nominals after the family name. Place post-nominals before the shortened form showing service (‘RAN’).

Make sure you write post-nominals in the right order.

Don’t use commas before or between post-nominals.

Use ‘RAN’ to indicate Navy service for commissioned officers

Use ‘RAN’ (Royal Australian Navy) for all commissioned officers of the Navy. Place ‘RAN’ after the family name and any post-nominals.

Don’t use an acronym to show service for officers in the Army or Air Force.

In Defence, ‘RAN’ is used to distinguish naval officers from officers in the other services and from naval officers in other countries.

Gazettal notices of Australian awards and honours follow this style. For consistency, the Style Manual recommends that Australian Government organisations also follow this practice.

Write the rank before the title of ADF members who are knighted

When someone has a military rank and another title such as ‘Sir’, ‘Dame’ or ‘the Honourable’, place the military rank first.

Address chaplains and maritime spiritual wellbeing officers by title

Army and Air Force chaplains wear military rank.

Navy chaplains and maritime spiritual wellbeing officers (MSWOs) do not wear military rank. Instead, they wear chaplaincy or MWSO insignia and a service badge with the symbol of their faith or purpose. This gives them ‘floating rank’, meaning they take on the rank of the person they are talking to.

Address chaplains with their chaplaincy title, not a military rank.

MSWOs have been part of the Navy since 2020. Address them with their MSWO title, not a military rank.

Include any post-nominals.

The chaplaincy titles are:

• Principal Chaplain (Navy and Army) and Principal Air Chaplain (Air Force)
• Senior Chaplain (Navy) and Chaplain (Navy, Army and Air Force).

The MSWO titles include:

• Principal Maritime Spiritual Wellbeing Officer
• Senior Maritime Spiritual Wellbeing Officer
• Maritime Spiritual Wellbeing Officer.

Address retired officers of the ADF by rank

Commissioned officers who retire can continue to use their military rank. When writing their name, use their rank and include ‘(Retd)’ after any post-nominals.

Avoid using the shortened forms of ranks

For internal Defence use, it is common to write the ranks in abbreviated form using capital letters.

Don’t follow this convention in other types of content. Write the full rank with an initial capital letter.

Address members of the ADF correctly in emails and letters

The style rule for address blocks applies to all members of the ADF.

The style rule for salutations changes with rank.

Address blocks

To write an address block, follow all preceding rules on this page.

The style of address blocks is the same for all ranks.

• rank
• given name or initials
• family name
• post-nominals
• ‘RAN’ for commissioned officers in the Navy
• ‘(Retd)’for retired commissioned officers who retain rank
• postal address.

Salutations

The Style Manual follows the ADF’s style for salutations.

The style of salutations depends on rank.

Don’t include post-nominals in salutations.

Never add a comma after salutations.

Commissioned officer ranks

Rule: Dear [Rank]

Use the rule for these ranks:

• Admiral, Rear Admiral, Commodore and Captain (Navy)
• General, Lieutenant General, Major General, Brigadier and Colonel (Army)
• Air Chief Marshal, Air Marshal, Air Vice-Marshal, Air Commodore and Group Captain (Air Force).

Rule: Dear [Rank Family name]

Use the rule for these ranks:

• Commander, Lieutenant Commander and Lieutenant (Navy)
• Lieutenant Colonel, Major and Captain (Army)
• Wing Commander, Squadron Leader and Flight Lieutenant (Air Force).

Rule: Dear [Honorific Family name]

Use the rule for these ranks:

• Sub Lieutenant, Acting Sub Lieutenant and Midshipman (Navy)
• Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant and Officer Cadet (Army)
• Flying Officer, Pilot Officer and Officer Cadet (Air Force).

ADF style is to use a conventional title before the family name for these ranks.

Use the honorifics ‘Ms’, ‘Mr’, ‘Mx’, ‘Mrs’ or ‘Dr’ when it is possible to identify the appropriate title. If this is difficult, follow the ‘Dear [Rank Family name]' rule.

Other ranks

Rule: Dear [Rank Family name]

Use the rule for ranks from:

• Warrant Officer of the Navy to Recruit (Navy)
• Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army to Recruit (Army)
• Warrant officer of the Air Force to Aircraftman/Aircraftwoman (Air Force).

Chaplains and MSWOs

Salutations for ADF chaplains and maritime spiritual wellbeing officers do not change with rank.

Rule: Dear [Chaplaincy title]

Rule: Dear [MSWO title]

Other examples appear in the table that follows.

Ranks and salutations (in order of precedence)

* If it's difficult to establish the person's preferred honorific, use the rule ‘Dear [Rank Family name]'.