The Great War
During the Great War, the Australian Army used the Vickers Mk. I built in Britain and supplied to the Australian forces.
In the same format as the British Army, the Machine Guns were originally part of the Infantry Battalions. They were subsequently formed into Machine Gun Companies (around 1916) and then Machine Gun Battalions (in 1918).
Both Infantry and Cavalry used the Vickers MG; although the Cavalry will have also used the lighter Hotckiss as well.
The Australian Infantry MG Units in the Great War were as follows:
| Australian MG Company | Australian MG Battalion | Division assigned |
| 1st Aust MG Coy | 1st Aust MG Bn | 1st Aust Inf Div |
| 2nd Aust MG Coy | ||
| 3rd Aust MG Coy | ||
| 4th Aust MG Coy | 4th Aust MG Bn | 4th Aust Inf Div |
| 5th Aust MG Coy | 2nd Aust MG Bn | 1st Aust Inf Div |
| 6th Aust MG Coy | ||
| 7th Aust MG Coy | ||
| 8th Aust MG Coy | 5th Aust MG Bn | 5th Aust Inf Div |
| 9th Aust MG Coy | 3rd Aust MG Bn | 3rd Aust Inf Div |
| 10th Aust MG Coy | ||
| 11th Aust MG Coy | ||
| 12th Aust MG Coy | 4th Aust MG Bn | 4th Aust Inf Div |
| 13th Aust MG Coy | ||
| 14th Aust MG Coy | 5th Aust MG Bn | 5th Aust Inf Div |
| 15th Aust MG Coy | ||
| 21st Aust MG Coy | 1st Aust MG Bn | 1st Aust Inf Div |
| 22nd Aust MG Coy | 2nd Aust MG Bn | 2nd Aust Inf Div |
| 23rd Aust MG Coy | 3rd Aust MG Bn | 3rd Aust Inf Div |
| 24th Aust MG Coy | 4th Aust MG Bn | 4th Aust Inf Div |
| 25th Aust MG Coy | 5th Aust MG Bn | 5th Aust Inf Div |
The Australian Cavalry MG Units in the Great War were as follows:
| Australian MG Squadron | Division assigned |
| 16th MG Sqdn | Imperial Mounted Div |
| 17th MG Sqdn | Yeomanry Mounted Div |
| 18th MG Sqdn | ANZAC Mounted Div |
| 19th MG Sqdn | Australian Mounted Div |
| 1st Australian MG Sqdn | 1st Light Horse Brigade |
| 2nd Australian MG Sqdn | 2nd Light Horse Brigade |
| 3rd Australian MG Sqdn | 3rd Light Horse Brigade |
| 4th Australian MG Sqdn | 4th Light Horse Brigade |
Other MG units included:
- 1st Australian Armoured Car Section
- Australian Machine Gun Training Depot
Inter-war period
As with the British Army, MG units were disbanded after with Great War and the MMG assets were returned to Infantry Battalions and Cavalry Regiments.
During the inter-war period, Australia began to manufacture her own Vickers MGs at the Lithgow Small Arms Factor. These included the Mk. I and these were used alongside the existing British-supplied guns. They also produced the Mk. XXI, which was a local version of the Mk. VII for Armoured Vehicle use.
The Second World War
During the Second World War, machine guns were again brigaded into single formations to provide better flexibility and improved performance. However, unlike the British Army, some Infantry Battalions retained their MG Companies and the Divisional MG Battalions provided additional support. This meant that the maximum possible number of Vickers MMGs within an Australian Infantry Division was much greater than that of the equivalent British formation.
The Australian MG Units in the Second World War were as follows:
| Unit | to which assigned |
| 2/1 Machine Gun Battalion | 6th Division |
| 2/2 Machine Gun Battalion | 7th Division |
| 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion | 9th Division |
| 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion | 8th Division |
| 5 Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 6 Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 7 New Guinea Force Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 15 Machine Gun Battalion | |
| 16 Machine Gun Regiment | |
| 17 Machine Gun Regiment | |
| 18 Light Horse Machine Gun Regiment | |
| 19 Machine Gun Regiment | |
| 25 Light Horse Machine Gun Regiment | |
| 26 Machine Gun Regiment |
.303-inch Gas-Operated
It is currently unclear whether the Australian Army used the Vickers G.O. However, assuming they did, it would have been used as a light machine gun on armoured reconnaissance vehicles. Australian members of the Long Range Desert Group would have also had exposure to vehicles equipped with the Vickers G.O.
.5-inch Gun
The Australian Army used the .5-inch Mk. V on their Light Tanks. They would have been used by the Divisional Cavalry Regiments and the Reconnaissance Battalions drawn from Light Horse Regiments.
As with the Vickers G.O., Australian members of the Long Range Desert Group would have had exposure to these weapons.
Post-Second World War
As a key component of the Commonwealth Forces in Korea, the Australians used considerable numbers of MMGs within their Infantry Battalions. The guns were ideal for domonating the difficult terrain over which the fighting took place.
The Vickers was gradually replaced in the Australian Forces during the 1950s and 1960s. With the Australian involvement in South Vietnam, they used American-supplied M60 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Guns.
MMGs were formed into Platoons of the Support Company of an Infantry Battalion after the Second World War. This was commanded by a Captain and there were three sections of two guns each. Each section, and the platoon headquarters, was transported in a jeep and trailer. The guns were served by three gun numbers, rather than the five per gun in the Second World War.
The last operational use of the Vickers MMG by Australian Forces was near Kuala Kangsar, Malaya, by the MMG Platoon of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment between 1958 and 1959. The Officer Commanding the MMG Platoon was Captain T.C. Bannister. It is likely that this was part of Operation GINGER which were anti-terrorist operations against Communist terrorists in Malaya.
