The RAAF School of Radio situated at Ballarat was the main radio/radar training establishment in the RAAF and was a technical school of a very high standard. In later years, electronic training was introduced. The school existed solely for the purpose of carrying out telecommunication training for RAAF purposes through initial, conversion, and post-graduate courses of instruction.

The unit was divided into two squadrons: the Administrative Squadron provided all base services, e.g., catering, amenities, barracks, etc., whilst the Radio Instructional Squadron was responsible for all technical training for which purpose the school was established.

Another important aspect of the school was the contribution it made to the social and civic life of Ballarat. Personnel actively associated with all public functions throughout its 20-year sojourn.

In November 1958, the City of Ballarat honored the unit by bestowing on it a plaque bearing the City of Ballarat coat of arms.

The forerunner of the RAAF School of Radio was No. 1 Wireless Airgunners School, which formed here on the 22nd of April 1940. The first course commenced on the 27th of May 1940 and was 24 weeks in duration.

The numbers at the school reached a peak in May 1942, when there were 41 officers and 1,918 airmen.

During the war years, 5,407 wireless air gunners successfully completed the course, plus 746 radar operators, whilst 646 returned for refresher courses.

On the 1st of November 1945, Air and Ground Radio School assumed the function of the original No. 1 W.A.G.S. to meet the more modern requirements of the RAAF.
A further change of name occurred on the 1st of December 1952 when the unit was renamed RAAF School of Radio.

The first post-war intakes were not RAAF personnel but Netherlands East Indies aircrew. Later, in June 1950, ten members of the Pakistan Air Force arrived to do the Wireless Maintenance Mechanics course.