Army chief makes final parade

Army chief Lieutenant General David Morrison is heading towards life outside the military.

He was officially farewelled at a parade outside the Canberra defence headquarters which also welcomed his successor, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell.

"Duty first. Good soldiering. Good-bye," he said in his farewell speech.

David Morrison joined the army in 1979, rising through the ranks and holding a variety of positions before taking command of the army in June 2011.

He attracted global attention in 2013 when, in response to the latest of a series of sex scandals, he issued a blunt warning to his troops about the place of women and a no-tolerance approach to degrading behaviour.

"If that does not suit you, then get out," he famously said at the time.

Last year, he formed part of the Australian delegation to the Global Summit To End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London, sharing the stage with actress Angelina Jolie.

Lieutenant General Campbell paid tribute to his his predecessor who he said had stamped his mark to the great benefit of the army.

Lieutenant General Morrison has served in his last appointment in a way that will be looked back on "as a period of fundamental renewal," he said.