The first parachute training unit was formed in 1942 the Paratroop Training Unit and at the end of the war was disbanded. On 12 August 1951, the Parachute Training Wing was formed as a Royal Australian Air Force unit at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales. The unit's first Commanding Officer/Chief Instructor was Squadron Leader C.A.V. Bourne. The instructors on the staff were both Army and RAAF personnel. The first course of trainees commenced in September 1951. In 1958, the wing was renamed the Parachute Training Flight. In 1961, the first Military Free Fall Paratroop Course was conducted. The Army assumed responsibility for parachute training on 14 May 1974 and the school was renamed the Parachute Training School, under the command of Lieutenant ColonelHarry Smith. The school relocated to Naval Air Station HMAS Albatross in 1986 and has continued its role there until the present. On 1 October 2011, the school transferred from Forces Command to Special Operations Command. On 19 November 2019, the SOCOMD training units were reorganised with the school renamed the Australian Defence Force Parachuting School and placed under the command of the newly raised Defence Special Operations Training and Education Centre.
Red Berets
In May 1974, the Parachute Training School established a Army Parachute Display Team the "Red Berets" renaming the Air Force's Parachute Display Team the "Dominoes". The team is composed of instructors and staff from the parachuting school. The team provides displays around Australia including jumps with flags, smoke and in formation. The Red Berets conduct 15 to 20 displays each year.
Structure
The school is believed to be organised as follows:
Headquarters – co-ordinates the functions of the School.
Training Wing – conducts all parachute training activities of the School.
Development Wing – conducts evaluation and testing of personnel parachute systems and associated equipment.
Parachute Maintenance Wing – stores repairs and repacks all personnel parachutes.
Logistic Support Wing – stores, transport, medical and catering.
The school provides static line training with the T-11 non-steerable parachute and the MC-6 steerable parachute at altitudes between and on land and water. Military Free Fall training is provided from aircraft up to. High Altitude Parachute Operations is provided from aircraft up to descending with oxygen.
