The ACF is sponsored by the Army and falls within the Army chain-of-command, but it is not a recruiting ground for the Army and nor can any of its cadets, adult instructors or officers be called up for active service. Cadets and adults in the ACF can leave whenever they want.

The ACF is split in to 57 county groups for administrative reasons. Each county is headed up by a volunteer County Commandant. Under his command are a small team of full-time paid staff who are responsible for the day-to-day administration of that county. Also under his command are the volunteers who are responsible for delivering day-to-day training to the cadets within the ACF. These volunteers come from all walks of life and offer up their time to help train the cadets in the many activities available in the ACF.

An integral part of the ACF structure is the Cadet Training Teams (CTTs). Each county has access to a CTT which is made up of senior non-commissioned officers from the regular army and commanded by an officer. These teams work with counties to provide support to training and in particular in training adult volunteers and senior cadets.