Australia shares its dominion status with Canada, but with one structural difference that changes almost everything: the 
Unratified Westminster Act spirit means that, unlike Canada, Australia can't decline calls to war from London. When 
the United Kingdom goes to war, Australia goes with it, whether it wants to or not — and that lack of room to maneuver is the real starting point of this guide.
Historical Context
Australia federated as a dominion of the British Empire in 1901, and unlike Canada it didn't ratify the Statute of Westminster until 1942 — which in game terms translates into the spirit that stops it declining British calls to war. The game starts in 1936 with Joseph Lyons' government still dealing with the aftermath of the Great Depression and a minimal defense budget.
What Changed with Thunder at Our Gates
Australia's base focus tree arrived with Together for Victory (2016), the same DLC that introduced the trees for 
Canada, 
India (British Raj), and South Africa. The Pacific-themed Theater Pack Thunder at Our Gates (2026) later expanded the starting national spirits — adding Poor Population Growth and Citizen Army to the list — and offers alternate starting leaders. Without this second DLC, Australia only has the original base-tree spirits.
National Spirits at Start
Australia starts with four national spirits, and together they paint the picture of a country still economically depressed, short on people, and without full freedom to decide its own foreign policy.
Unratified Westminster Act
Australia can't decline calls to war from the United Kingdom — the autonomy granted by the 1931 Statute still hasn't been exercised.
Poor Population Growth
−10% monthly population growth, reflecting the drop in births and immigration since the 1929 Great Depression.
The Great Depression
+40% to consumer goods factory factor, −10% stability, −15% factory output, −15% dockyard output.
Citizen Army
−25% division attack and −25% division defense on non-core territory — an army built to defend home turf, not to go expeditionary.
The One That Can't Say No
The Unratified Westminster Act spirit is the biggest structural difference from Canada: while Canada can choose not to follow the United Kingdom into war, Australia enters automatically the moment London does. That doesn't mean there's no room to maneuver — the Never Another Gallipoli branch exists specifically to change that reality — but unless you act to prevent it, your war calendar is set by the United Kingdom, not by you. For the grand land doctrine, we recommend 
Superior Firepower: with only 4 military factories and a Citizen Army penalized outside your own territory, chasing expensive armor doesn't pay off — artillery and fortifications give you more for less.
The Focus Tree Branches
Australia's tree is organized around seven main branches:
- Additional Militia Training — research bonuses for land doctrines, infantry equipment, support companies, and armor.
- Expand the RAAF — improves the air force, with research bonuses for aircraft and air doctrine.
- Cockatoo Island Shipyards / Kangaroo Point Dry Dock — modernizes the Australian Navy with ship and naval doctrine bonuses.
Standard Gauge Railway / Industries Assistance Corporation — a joint branch focused on improving infrastructure and industrial capacity.- Establish Advisory War Council — the domestic politics branch: the route out of the Great Depression, plus extra research slots.
Support the Policy of Appeasement — the historical branch: keeps Australia inside the Allies with access to Commonwealth tech-sharing bonuses.
Never Another Gallipoli — takes Australia out of the Allies, opening the option to stay an independent democracy or realign with fascism or communism.
This guide doesn't go into the detail of the more extreme political routes inside Never Another Gallipoli (the fascist route, the communist route) — they're playthrough paths that will be covered in separate content later.
Appeasement or Never Another Gallipoli
The central political decision is the same fork Canada faces, but with a name that carries different weight: Support the Policy of Appeasement keeps Australia aligned with London and gives it access to Commonwealth tech cooperation, while Never Another Gallipoli — a name that directly invokes the trauma of the First World War, when thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers died in a campaign decided in London — breaks with 
the Allies so Australia can decide its own war.
For a first playthrough, the Appeasement route is the simpler one: it leverages British naval and technological weight without needing to manage your own political transition. Never Another Gallipoli gives more control over your own destiny, but requires taking on the defense of the Pacific — and the trade routes the Royal Navy would otherwise cover — without the Allies' automatic backing.
War Campaigns
If you're following the historical script inside the Allies, here's how to play out Australia's contribution stage by stage rather than just watching the dates go by:
- Automatic entry into the war — don't treat it as a mere formality: as long as the Westminster Act stays unratified, your war calendar depends on London, so have your industry and divisions ready before it arrives, not after.
- Mediterranean-style naval operations — build up the Navy early; escorting your own and Allied convoys through the Mediterranean is a cheap, low-risk contribution before the Pacific front opens up.
- North Africa/
Greece-style campaign — don't deploy your expeditionary Army without air and artillery support: remember the Citizen Army spirit penalizes attack and defense outside your own territory, so these campaigns will always cost you more than defending at home. - Singapore-style fall — don't take the defense of your Asian possessions for granted just because the United Kingdom garrisons them; reinforce Malaya and Singapore with your own divisions before
Japan enters the war, not after the surrender. - Darwin-style bombing — have your own air defense network ready in the north of the country; it's your warning that the war no longer stays far from home.
- Kokoda-style campaign — set up a defense in depth of New Guinea ahead of time: jungle terrain favors the defender, so arriving late with your divisions costs far more than getting there first.
For the exact breakdown of combat widths and template composition, the combat width guide and the naval warfare guide go into the detail this guide only sketches out.
Common Mistakes
- Forgetting that with the Westminster spirit active, you can't choose when you go to war — plan industry and army around that imposed calendar.
- Ignoring the Advisory War Council thinking military focuses are more urgent, when the Great Depression is still cutting 15% off all your production in the meantime.
- Neglecting the navy assuming the United Kingdom has it covered — the Pacific's sea lanes become Australia's own responsibility the moment Japan enters the war.
Australia's Achievements
Nine achievements specific to Australia, ranging from the historical to the flatly ridiculous:
Australia-Hungary
As Australia, own all core territory of Hungary.
Once More Mate
Occupy Gallipoli as Australia.
Rule Britannia
As any British Subject state, conquer all of Britain.
The weapons of the Third Emu War
As Australia, use a nuclear bomb on core Australian territory.
The 7th State
As Australia, own and fully control New Zealand.
The rightside up
As Australia, own and fully control Jan Mayen.
A succulent Chinese Meal
As Australia, annex and own one province in China.
Waltzing Matilda
Deploy 25 Heavy Tank Battalions as Australia.
ANZAC
As Australia or New Zealand, have an Army HQ in Greece and ensure that Greece doesn't capitulate until 1945.