With little fanfare, military personnel this week formally ended their bushfire operations that had begun months before the peak of Australia's devastating summer.

Key points: ADF members have been instructed not to travel outside their local area in preparation for the coronavirus response

ADF members have been instructed not to travel outside their local area in preparation for the coronavirus response Aside from monitoring the quarantine of international travellers, ADF members could also assist with logistics and transport

Aside from monitoring the quarantine of international travellers, ADF members could also assist with logistics and transport Army Reservists are also being called upon to assist with the ADF COVID-19 efforts

As Operation Bushfire Assist concluded, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) was quietly ramping up its efforts towards a larger global emergency — the coronavirus pandemic.

On Friday evening, Defence's top brass issued a military-wide edict, effectively putting its personnel on notice that they could soon be deployed on coronavirus duties.

"ADF members are not to undertake private travel outside their local area, as defined by local Commanders, when not required for duty, including on weekends, until further notice," it declared.

The directive from the Secretary of Defence and Chief of Defence will be reviewed at the end of June.

Army to help enforce quarantine of overseas travellers

This weekend the Army is being mobilised in each state and territory to help police officers enforce strict quarantine measures on new arrivals into the country.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 55 seconds 1 m 55 s Scott Morrison announces new quarantine measures for international travellers. (Photo: AAP/Lukas Coch)

From midnight on Saturday anyone returning to Australia will be placed in supervised self-isolation, and soldiers will help state authorities enforce the strict measures.

Army members will also carry out compliance checks for those already in self-isolation but will not have powers of arrest.

"Members of the Australian Defence Force are not authorised as enforcement officers, regarding prosecution in states and territories," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said when announcing the move on Friday.

ADF expected to focus on logistics and transport

As well as helping to enforce quarantine and self-isolation, Defence has established contact tracing teams to work with governments across the country to limit the number of new infections from identified patients.

Military personnel this week also began providing logistics, communications and medic support at three border control locations on Northern Territory highways.

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In Victoria, a small defence team of engineering maintenance specialists has been dispatched to a surgical face mask factory until civilian workers can be recruited.

Army Reservists are also being called on to assist with the ADF's increasingly visible COVID-19 efforts.

On Wednesday, the ABC revealed Army's Directorate of Contingent Workforce had sent a message to both active and non-active reservists, asking if they had a "capacity and willingness" for work "likely to result from our current environment".

Former Defence Department official Tyson Sara believes the ADF's main contribution in the looming medical emergency will be logistics and transport.

"A large proportion of our medical capabilities sit in the Reserve and those reservists already engaged in the public health system so I wouldn't imagine there would be a huge amount of capacity — but certainly logistics, driving trucks, warehousing things are all capabilities that the Defence Force can do," Mr Sara told the AM program.

Since early March one of the country's most senior military leaders, Lieutenant General John Frewen, has headed up a new COVID-19 taskforce which has been created by Defence to manage its response to the pandemic.

The ABC has been told Defence's taskforce has been wargaming all manner of scenarios including military personnel being asked to help control law and order during the pandemic.

Mr Sara says he can't foresee any form of civil unrest in Australia requiring a security response from the ADF.

"That's something that may occur in other countries around the world where societies are perhaps a bit more fragile," he said.

The Australia Defence Association has noted that since Federation the military has only been called on to help police three times, and on two of the occasions was not actually used.

Executive Director Neil James argues it's not constitutionally possible for "martial law" to occur in this country.

"Principle of civil primacy always applies including in extremely rare situations where the ADF may be called upon to assist civil police with armed force".