Cast
Regular cast
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- Gerard Kennedy as Sen. Det./Det. Sgt. Frank Banner – In accordance with real-life changes to the Victoria Police, Banner was promoted to Detective Sergeant and Vickers to Detective Senior Sergeant as these changes occurred. A hard, tough man who has become a loner after his pregnant wife, Joy, died during premature child-birth brought on after being terrorised by a criminal (in the first episode, "The Soldiers"); as a result, he tends to bury himself in his work. He respects but sometimes disagrees with his superior, Sergeant Vickers, and although sometimes using roughhouse methods of handling criminals is both a fair man and a conscientious cop. Banner eventually falls in love with and marries an old friend, Jenny Franklin, and in the second-last episode resigns from the Victoria Police for an extended honeymoon and to find a 'safer' occupation.
- Chuck Faulkner as Det. Sgt./Det. Snr. Sgt. Keith Vickers – Head of the Yarra Central CIB, married with two sons. He often clashes with his younger son Jamie, a university student, over anti-Vietnam demonstrations. His bark is usually worse than his bite, and although he comes across as a very serious person most of the time, he has a dry sense of humour which lends itself to some nice comedy touches.
- Terence Donovan as Sen. Det. Mick Peters – The station's third plain-clothes man. Peters has a happy-go-lucky nature and an eye for the ladies. He has a good record with the Victoria Police, although Vickers sometimes has to pull him into line for being too much of a comedian.
- Frank Taylor as Sgt. Andrew "Scotty" MacLeod – Head of Yarra Central's Uniform Branch. A meticulous man originally from Scotland (hence his nickname "Scotty"), he is married with four daughters (one of whom is kidnapped by a former adversary in episode 214, "Backlash"). Scotty's role is mainly confined to the station charge counter, and he therefore rarely appears in exterior scenes (allowing actor Frank Taylor to live in Sydney and commute to Melbourne for three days of filming a week).
- Ted Hamilton as Const. Kevin Dwyer – An ambitious and dedicated cop who is always eager to work with the CIB. Hamilton was sacked from the series for breach of contract (he had filmed a commercial without permission from Crawfords) in September 1973, during the filming of an episode. Frantic script rewrites solved the problem of Dwyer's sudden disappearance by explaining that the character had been accepted for a position in the CIB and transferred out of Yarra Central to commence his detective training (noted in episode 225, "All For One"). Because of Hamilton's abrupt departure from the series (and the resulting production disruptions), Dwyer makes several other onscreen appearances until episode 231, but his final full appearance is in episode 229, "Mad About The Boy".
- Patricia Smith as WPC Margaret Stewart – Stewart lives with her mother, is a fairly conservative person, but is keenly interested in the reform of criminals, and is friendly with and has great respect for Banner. Like Scotty MacLeod, the role of Stewart was usually a static one, allowing Patricia Smith to commute from Adelaide to Melbourne for filming. Stewart resigns from the force to get married in episode 238, "None So Blind".
- Andrew McFarlane as Constable Roger Wilson – Becomes a recurring character from episode 235, "Maria". A new recruit to the police force (and a bit of a bungler at first), Yarra Central is Wilson's first posting, and he develops from a green newcomer to a competent constable who soon settles down. This was McFarlane's breakout role, which later led to his being cast in The Sullivans as series heartthrob John Sullivan. In episode 289, "Tell Me Your Troubles My Friend", Wilson receives a transfer to a country posting at Mansfield.
- Clive Davies as Constable Bob Parry – Davies had appeared in one episode early in 1974. Parry became a recurring character from episode 237, "Goodbye Charlie", screened 20 May 1974. Parry featured in 48 episodes between 1974 and 1975.
- John Hannan as Constable Paul Gray – Becomes a recurring character from episode 274, "A Sense of Duty (Part 1)". Gray was an important element in many episodes in 1975 but first had a major storyline in the episode 'Just for Kicks' when the brother of his girlfriend, Jan (Noni Hazlehurst), was involved in the theft of a car and a rifle. Gray featured in 36 episodes in the final year of the program.
- Rowena Wallace as WPC Jane Bell – A rising star in the force, Jane Bell appears in ten episodes beginning with 'Hello Stranger' on the 5 August 1974. The character is given little background; she is a newcomer to police work and occasionally overly idealistic. As a WPC she, like Margaret Stewart before her, is tasked with interviewing and counselling female suspects. Wallace had appeared in five different roles in Division 4 before taking the role of Jane Bell in the show's final months.
- John Stanton as Det. Tom Morgan – Frank Banner's replacement, a country cop transferred from Bairnsdale to Yarra Central. Morgan appears only in the final episode of Division 4, the Nine Network having cancelled the series after Kennedy left the show.
Other notable cast members
Filmmaker Nadia Tass had her first acting role, aged 14, in Division 4.