Ellwood graduated from Duntroon in 1990 and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. His early career included postings as a platoon commander in the 2nd/4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and as an instructor in field training and tactics at Duntroon, before he was seconded to the British Army from 1998 for a two-year exchange with the Irish Guards, then stationed in Germany. During the secondment he deployed as part of the NATO intervention in the Kosovo War in 1999, serving as second-in-command of an armoured infantry company in the King's Royal Hussars Battle Group.[1][4][5] For his service in Kosovo, Ellwood was awarded a Commander British Forces Commendation. He returned to Australia as a company commander and operations officer in the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5/7RAR). Ellwood commanded B Company on operations in East Timor from October 1999 to April 2000, when 5/7RAR deployed with the International Force East Timor.[1][2][5][6]
Ellwood subsequently served as chief of staff Headquarters Forces Command and as Director General of Career Management – Army. Promoted to major general, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Army on 3 May 2018. He occupied the role for only seven months, before succeeding Major General Paul McLachlan in command of the 1st Division on 6 December 2018.[1][5] Ellwood was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, the award recognising his "remarkable capacity and exceptional leadership and management skills ... across a number of [senior] roles".[12]
Ellwood relinquished command of the 1st Division to Major General Scott Winter in November 2021 and,[13] for his "outstanding achievement" in the command, was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2022 Australia Day Honours.[14][15] The following March, he was appointed State Recovery Coordinator by the Premier of Queensland to lead the large-scale recovery operations in response to the severe floods in South East Queensland.[16] Ellwood retired from the army in December 2022, and the following March was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.[17]
Ellwood is married to Nicole, with whom he has two children. He is patron of the 5RAR Association, and his interests include military history, scuba diving, long-distance running, and fishing.[1][5]
^ ab"Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)"(PDF). Australia Day 2009 Honours. Office of the Governor-General of Australia. Archived from the original(PDF) on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
Blaxland, John (2008). "Near and Far: Operations, 1999–2006". In Horner, David; Bou, Jean (eds.). Duty First: A History of the Royal Australian Regiment (2nd ed.). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. pp. 306–346. ISBN9780044422273.
Horner, David; Bou, Jean, eds. (2008). "Appendix C: Commanding Officers". Duty First: A History of the Royal Australian Regiment (2nd ed.). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. pp. 438–444. ISBN9780044422273.