Huon was commissioned into the RAN in late 1915, and after completion was deployed to the Far East. In mid 1917, Huon and her five sister ships were transferred to the Mediterranean; Huon served as a convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol ship until a collision with sister ship HMAS Yarra in August 1918 saw Huon drydocked for the rest of World War I. After a refit in England, Huon returned to Australia in 1919.