Commander, 1st Division, Australian Army

Major General Paul McLachlan enlisted in the Regular Australian Army in 1982 and graduated from the Royal Military College - Duntroon in 1985.  He was assigned to the Royal Australian Artillery and initially served as a Troop Commander with the 1st Field Regiment in Brisbane and as Adjutant of the 8th/12th Medium Regiment in Sydney. 

Major General Paul McLachlan has completed a wide range of staff appointments including Staff Officer Grade Plans at Land Headquarters and Military Assistant to the Land Commander. In 2000, Major General Paul McLachlan served as the Commander of the Diplomatic Supplementation Staff - Honiara during the coup in the Solomon Islands. During this deployment, he coordinated the evacuation of Australian and other approved nationals and arranged military support to the initial peace negotiations between the combatants.

Major General Paul McLachlan served as the Commanding Officer of the 8th/12th Medium Regiment in the 1st Brigade, Darwin over the period 2003 to 2004, after which he assumed the role of the Operations Officer at Headquarters 1st Division/ Deployable Joint Force Headquarters.

Major General Paul McLachlan served in Baghdad as the Operations Officer in the Joint Task Force Headquarters, where he was promoted to Colonel in February 2006. During the period 2006 to 2007, Major General Paul McLachlan was employed as the Chief of Staff at Headquarters 1st Division, located in Brisbane.  He graduated from the Centre of Defence and Strategic Studies in 2008.

Major General Paul McLachlan was appointed as Director General Development and Plans, at Army Headquarters in January 2009. He then assumed command of the Brisbane-based 7th Brigade in February 2010, where he was responsible for the force preparation of two Mentoring Task Force rotations into Afghanistan. During his tenure at the 7th Brigade, Major General Paul McLachlan led the introduction of brigade-level digitisation into the Army.

In January 2011, Major General Paul McLachlan commanded Operation QUEENSLAND FLOOD ASSIST  (Joint Task Force 637) during the Queensland flood response and recovery. He was awarded the Conspicuous Service cross for this role. In January 2013, he assumed the role of Head Land Systems at the-then Defence Materiel Organisation (now Capability and Sustainment Acquisition Group).

In November 2015, Major General Paul McLachlan assumed command of the 1st Division and Deployable Joint Force Headquarters.

Major General Paul McLachlan is a graduate of the Australian Defence Force School of Languages, where he was awarded a diploma in advanced Japanese in 1991.  He also holds a Masters degree in Strategic Studies and recently completed a Diploma in Complex Strategic Procurement.  He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.