The Australian Knee Society was born in 1978, beginning life as the Australian Knee Club. It was designed as a forum, for those Orthopaedic Surgeons who had an particular interest in the emerging fields of 'Arthroscopy' and 'Sports Surgery of the Knee', to come together to discuss new ideas and new treatments. At that time, its primary focus was on the Anterior Cruciate Ligament: what it did, how it worked, and how it could be repaired or reconstructed.

The ten founding fathers of this society, representing leaders in their field from each state, came together each year, bringing their own unique surgical experience, and combining that with information gleaned from meetings around the world, to try and advance their knowledge of the knee: its anatomy, its function, its disorders and its treatment. To them, we will always owe a debt of gratitude. It was their interest, time, energy, and research, that made them world figures in the field of knee surgery: and especially in the field of knee ligament reconstructive surgery. That they were prepared to spread that knowledge into the Orthopaedic Community at large, has been responsible for a standard of knee surgery that is the envy of the rest of the world.

In November 2016, the Australian Knee Society became incorporated into a Not for Profit Company Limited by Guarantee. Through the work of this society, and through the meeting of its members, new generations of surgeons are both educated and educate. This process is ever evolving, and is most manifest in the advanced treatment options that are now available, and widely so, in this country.