 Consisting of a headquarters company and two deployable companies, the unit consisted of 12 officers and 250 soldiers and had the capacity to provide medical support at brigade-level including battlefield casualty collection and initial wound treatment.Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Barton, who had previously served as commanding officer of the 6th Light Horse Regiment, the unit was attached to the 23rd Infantry Brigade, 8th Division.Most of the recruits were from rural New South Wales.