Goodwill (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2009
Reduction to goodwill due to favorable resolution of lease termination recorded in restructuring reserve			$ 103,000	$ 0	$ 0
Goodwill addition			24,188,000	0
Impairment	0		0	0	0
Weighted average cost of capital assumption		11.30%
Assumed annual compound growth rate after five or ten years	4.30%	4.40%
Disclosure of Change of Date for Annual Goodwill Impairment Test			Woodward changed the annual testing date for its goodwill impairment test from March 31 to July 31.
Reason for Change in Date of Annual Goodwill Impairment Test			The change in the goodwill impairment test date is preferable as it better aligns the impairment testing procedures with the completion of the annual financial and strategic planning process.
Minimum [Member]
Weighted average cost of capital assumption	10.00%
Maximum [Member]
Weighted average cost of capital assumption	10.20%
Aerospace [Member]
Reduction to goodwill due to favorable resolution of lease termination recorded in restructuring reserve			103,000
Goodwill addition			0	0
Energy [Member]
Goodwill addition			$ 24,188,000	$ 0