The 7th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Raised in 1914 as part of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, the battalion was completely recruited from the state of Victoria and formed the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. The battalion served during the Gallipoli campaign where it had the distinction of having four of its members awarded the Victoria Cross. In 1916, it was transferred to Europe, fighting in the trenches along the Western Front for the next two and a half years.

Although disbanded in 1919 following the end of hostilities, it was re-raised in 1921 in the Citizens Force (later known as the Militia) as a part-time infantry battalion based in Victoria. However, due to lack of funding following the Great Depression and a shortage of manpower following the suspension of the compulsory training scheme in 1929, the battalion was amalgamated with the 38th Battalion as the 7th/38th Battalion, although it was delinked again in 1936 when the Army was expanded due to rising tensions in Europe.

During the Second World War, the 7th Battalion served primarily in a garrison role, firstly being used to defend the Australian mainland before deploying late in the war to take part in the Bougainville campaign in 1944–1945. On Bougainville, as part of the 23rd Brigade, they took part in the fighting in the central sector of the island in the last months of the war. Following the end of hostilities, the battalion was once again used in the garrison role before being returned to Australia and disbanding in early 1946.

In 1948, the battalion was re-raised as an amalgamated unit with the 8th Battalion when the Citizens Military Force was reformed. Today, it exists as the 8th/7th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, the Australian government decided to raise an all volunteer force for overseas service due to the provisions of the Defence Act (1903) which precluded sending the Militia outside of Australian territory to fight. While this force would draw from the military forces that already existed—the part-time Citizens Force and the Permanent Military Force—it would be largely be made up from recruits not currently serving. Known as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), initially it was to consist of 20,000 men, comprising one infantry division and a light horse brigade. Recruitment for the first intake began on 10 August 1914, and the 7th Battalion was among the first units raised, forming less than a fortnight after the declaration of war.

Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harold Elliott, the battalion was brigaded with the 5th, 6th and 8th Battalions to form the 2nd Brigade under Brigadier James Whiteside McCay. Elliott took personal control over the recruitment process, selecting only those officers that he had known from his service in the Citizens Forces as his company commanders, who he in turn entrusted with choosing their own subordinates. Recruitment was conducted over a period of three weeks and by the end of the period the process had been so successful that the battalion was over establishment. Initially, the battalion was organised into eight companies, designated 'A' to 'H', while recruitment and initial training was undertaken at Broadmeadows, however, this was later reduced to the new British standard four companies of double the size, designated 'A' to 'D'.

In September the battalion marched through the city of Melbourne and a fortnight later they embarked upon HMT Hororata bound for the Middle East. They arrived in Egypt on 2 December 1914 after which they undertook further training before being called to undertake defensive duties along the Suez Canal following the failed Turkish First Suez Offensive in February 1915. However the battalion did not take part in direct combat, and during this time a number of its non-commissioned officers were allowed to apply for commissions in British Army units.

In early April the battalion was moved to Alexandria and from there on to Lemnos Island. On the morning of 25 April 1915, the battalion took part in the Landing at Anzac Cove, coming ashore as part of the second wave. Over the course of the first week the battalion was involved in establishing the beachhead and suffered heavily, losing five officers and 179 men killed or died of wounds. This was higher than any other subsequent battle that the battalion fought during the war. On 29 April, the 2nd Brigade was relieved by the 12th (Deal) Battalion and in early May the battalion was able to reorganise itself after its baptism of fire. The respite did not last long, however, for only ten days after the landing at Anzac Cove, the 2nd Brigade was transferred to Cape Helles in order to take part in an attack on Krithia on 8 May 1915. The attack was a very costly failure, with the battalion losing a further six officers and 87 men killed. Nevertheless, they were involved in what is believed to be the first brigade-level attack conducted by an Australian force against an entrenched enemy and the attack earned the Victorians many plaudits.