417 (City of Bayside) Squadron

417 (City of Bayside) Squadron Australian Air Force Cadets Information for Prospective Parents & Recruits

Thank you for the overwhelming interest in applying for 417SQN for the 2026 intake. Our intake and waitlist are at capacity and we will no longer be taking any further applications. No additional phone or email applications will be processed for 2026, that are not already in processing through the EOI page.

Other cadet units in the area might be a better option to explore, including local Air Fore Cadet, Army Cadet and Navy Cadet units. We cannot guarantee the status of any other local unit at this stage.

417SQN’s 2027 applications will open 01 OCT 26. Please apply via the enrolment page found here. No phone/email applicants or waitlist applicants will be taken prior to this date. At this point in time, 417SQN will not be taking a midyear intake in 2026, although there is the potential for other local units to do so.

417SQN Continues to take adult staff volunteer applications at any time.

417 (City of Bayside) Squadron Australian Air Force Cadets History & Formation

No. 17 Squadron - Air Training Corps, was originally raised in Caulfield on the 22nd of July, 1942 during the Second World War. What would become the Squadron of today was formed as No 17 Flight in July 1956, originally a Town Flight at Caulfield. It relocated later to a new premise at Noel Street, Brighton, adjoining the Army Drill Hall, sharing, when necessary some of the Army's facilities. No 3 Flight was amalgamated briefly in mid-1970's to form 3/17 Flight, until No 3 Flight was re-raised at Dandenong in 1978.

On the 17th December 1984, No 17 Flight was presented by Brighton Council with a Flag of the City of Brighton and a Scroll of Honour, conferring on it the title 'City of Brighton.' When The City of Brighton amalgamated with boarding cities (Sandringham, Mordialloc and Moorabbin) on 14th December 1994 to form Bayside City Council, the name was transferred, providing the title: 17 (City of Bayside) Flight. The Squadron was relocated to Labuan Barracks at Sandringham in November 2000 after the ADF sold the original Noel Street Premises.

On 1st July 2001 changes were made to better reflect the Air Training Corps relationship with its parent Service, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). This meant that the Flight was renamed to 417 (City of Bayside) Squadron Australian Air Force Cadets, which remains the official title today. In alignment with RAAF traditions, Squadron have acquired Banners as a means of fostering esprit de corps. The Motto of the 417 Squadron Banner read "Ex Nihilo Nihil." In Latin the phrase "from nothing comes nothing" represents the Squadrons ability to create greatness from any situation or individual. The Squadron Crest contains the Bayside City Council Shell logo overlaid by a seagull representing the Sandringham location and the Squadrons proximity to the beach.

In 2010 417 Squadron continued to further develop its future aims and goals with an updated motto "praesume volare altior" which translated from Latin means 'dare to fly higher'.