Holsworthy Barracks is located in the outer south-western Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 suburb of Holsworthy

Holsworthy, New South Wales

Holsworthy is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Holsworthy is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool and partly in the Sutherland Shire.Holsworthy is most notable for...

. It is part of the Holsworthy military reserve, which has been a training area and artillery range for the Australian Army

Australian Army

The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...

 since World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 it became a major base for the permanent component of the Army in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. Following the movement of many units of the Regular Army to Darwin in the late 1990s many Army Reserve units were moved from other depots to Holsworthy Barracks, including the Headquarters of the 5th Brigade.

The base is currently home to 17 Signals Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment is a parachute infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Sydney. 3 RAR was initially formed in 1945 as the 67th Battalion and has seen active service in Japan, Korea, Malaya, South Vietnam, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and Iraq...

 (3RAR), 2nd Commando Regiment

2nd Commando Regiment (Australia)

The 2nd Commando Regiment is an Australian Army Special Forces unit, it is one of three combat-capable units within the Australian Special Operations Command. The regiment was established on 19 June 2009 when it was renamed from the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment...

 (2 Cdo Regt), 6th Aviation Regiment

6th Aviation Regiment (Australia)

The 6th Aviation Regiment is one of the Australian Army's three Army Aviation regiments. The Regiment was formed in 2008 to command the Army's special forces helicopter squadron and its surveillance aircraft squadron...

 and the 1st Health Support Battalion (1HSB).

Terrorism plot

On 4 August 2009, four men from Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 were charged over the Holsworthy Barracks terror plot

Holsworthy Barracks terror plot

The Holsworthy Barracks terror plot was an alleged Islamist terrorist plot uncovered in August 2009 targeting Holsworthy Barracks—an Australian Army training area located in the outer south-western Sydney suburb of Holsworthy—with automatic weapons...

, an alleged plan to storm the barracks with automatic weapons; and shoot army personnel or others until they were killed or captured. The men are allegedly connected with the Somali

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

-based terrorist group al-Shabaab

Al-Shabaab (Somalia)

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen , more commonly known as al-Shabaab , is a terrorist group of militants fighting to overthrow the government of Somalia. As of 2011, the group controls large swathes of the southern parts of Somalia, where it is said to have imposed its own strict form of Sharia law...

. Former Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...

 has since announced that the federal government

Government of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

 has ordered a review of security at all military bases. On 6 August 2009, a Daily Telegraph reporter and photographer were charged with taking a photograph of a defence installation after being granted entry to the military base.