The federal government has announced a major overhaul of the Department of Defence, in a bid to address systematic inefficiencies within the organisation as it ramps up spending.
The federal government has announced a major overhaul of the Department of Defence, in a bid to address systematic inefficiencies within the organisation as it ramps up spending.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles confirmed today the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, the Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Group and the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Group would combined into one entity – the Defence Delivery Agency.
The reform has been framed as one of the largest the nation has seen and comes against a backdrop of increased security activity in the west with the anticipated arrival of allied Virginia-class submarines stationed at HMAS Sterling from 2027.
“This is one of the most significant reforms to defence that we have seen, and it will greatly change the way defence operates,” Mr Marles said
“It will greatly improve the quality of defence spend, and it will make sure that as we spend more money in the defence budget, we are doing it in a way which sees programs delivered on time and on budget.”
The move was foreshadowed in June, when Mr Marles was critical of the department’s performance and claimed 28 projects were running overtime by a combined 97 years when his government took office.
The new Defence Delivery Agency will report directly to the ministers with defence responsibility – Mr Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy – and will have control over its own budget.
It will be run by a National Armaments Director, who will be responsible for advising government on acquisition strategies and program delivery following government approvals.
Mr Marles said the government was seeking to ensure its investment in defence was well spent.
“As the Albanese Government makes the biggest ever peacetime investment in Defence, it is important that we put in place the structures and systems to ensure Australia’s Defence Force can deliver the capabilities we need at speed and within budget,” he said.
“The establishment of the Defence Delivery Agency will elevate the professionalism and strategic focus of Defence capability acquisition and sustainment.
“It will drive stronger contestability, more accurate cost estimation, and clearer accountability for the delivery of major projects.”
The new agency is expected to employ around the same number as the three agencies which are being rolled into it – with an expected workforce of 6,500.
The restructure follows sustained pressure from the United States – Australia’s major defence ally and one-third of the Aukus trilateral partnership – for Australia to increase its defence spending as a proportion of national GDP.
Defence spending currently sits at around $60 billion per annum and will rise to around $100 billion annually by 2034.
ASC plots WA growth
The changes to the structure of the Department of Defence come alongside an expected significant ramp up in defence presence and activity south of Perth.
Government-owned ASC is plotting rapid growth in its local workforce, with 250 jobs to be added by June of next year – hiring a rate of more than one per day over the coming seven months.
ASC is the nation’s submarine builder and sustainer and is expanding in anticipation of the arrival of Virginia-class nuclear submarines on rotation through HMAS Stirling at Garden Island from 2027.
The jobs will include corporate support roles, submarine platform training instructors, engineers, supply chain specialists, planning specialists and project and program managers, among others.
ASC also added 70 early career employees in WA over the course of 2025 and will hire 65 more in 2026.
The organisation’s 900-person WA workforce will swell beyond 1,100 by the middle of next year and is expected to go beyond 1,600 people by 2030.
ASC’s recruitment drive is just one part of the picture.
The coastal Henderson precinct will be consolidated as a defence-only area in the years ahead, and the common-user facilities in the region will be relocated as a result.
Billions worth of refurbishment and expansion at HMAS Stirling are in various stages of growth, with more than $20 billion of local investment expected over the coming 10 years.
Fueled by an influx of local and allied service people to the region, demand for housing in the Rockingham area is already on the rise according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia – and expected to rise further.
The Department of Defence struck a deal in October to build 550 new houses across this year and next, to be leased by Defence Housing Australia in the years ahead.
