8/9 RAR was formed on 31 October 1973 by linking
8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and
9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment as part of cutbacks to the army following the end of the
Vietnam War. Upon formation the unit was based at
Enoggera Barracks in
Brisbane where it formed part of the
6th Brigade. The battalion's first major task came in the wake of the
1974 Brisbane flood, when it assisted with the subsequent disaster relief and cleanup efforts. During the 1980s the battalion lost a large number of its personnel to the
1st and
2nd Battalions, Royal Australian Regiment as part of the Operational Deployment Force, but nevertheless undertook the task of maintaining the Army's amphibious and urban operations specialisations. In 1990, it took on a further role of training
Papua New Guinea Defence Force personnel. and shortly after this, as part of a restructuring of the Army, 8/9 RAR was disbanded on 30 June 1997. The battalion would continue to be called the 8/9th Battalion and would be based in
South East Queensland. On 2 October 2007, the Prime Minister announced that 8/9 RAR would be operationally deployable by 2010, be based in Brisbane at Enoggera Barracks and would be equipped with
Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles. The battalion was officially re-raised on 31 October 2007 and was rapidly established as a
motorised unit. Although originally it was intended that the battalion would consist of two motorised rifle companies, a support company and an administration company, this structure was deemed unworkable and the battalion was subsequently reorganised.
East Timor In late-February 2010, 130 soldiers from the battalion's 'A' Company took over responsibility of the Timor Leste Task Group, replacing
2 RAR in
East Timor. This force was rotated back to Australia in June 2010 after a four-month deployment, and was replaced by 'B' Company, 8/9RAR.
Afghanistan Between January 2012 and June 2012, 8/9 RAR deployed to Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan as the core of MTF-4.
Iraq In 2015–16, members of 8/9 RAR deployed on two consecutive rotations of
Operation Okra in Iraq and
Operation Highroad in Afghanistan.
Minor operations and individual deployments The battalion has also contributed small numbers of personnel to
Operations Slipper,
Anode, and
Pakistan Assist, and was heavily involved in search and rescue efforts during the
2010–11 Queensland floods, deploying to its emergency support force on short notice to Grantham in the
Lockyer Valley. By mid-2011, 8/9 RAR had grown to comprise a battalion headquarters, three rifle companies and an operational support company. ==Traditions==