A globally competitive defence industry

Australia is building a resilient, globally-competitive sovereign defence industry – one that is deeply integrated with allied supply chains and trusted by partners worldwide.

Our industrial base combines advanced manufacturing, cutting-edge research and a highly skilled workforce, underpinned by strong government support and transparent regulatory framework. We export innovative defence technologies to key global partners, and support an agile and capable Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Global defence contractors invest in Australian defence technologies and advanced manufacturing. This helps Australian companies supply components to international defence programs. With defence industries growing fast, Australian startups are creating their own defence solutions – and exporting them.

Austrade is supporting Australian business to forge international partnerships that offer the opportunity to scale beyond what might be possible in the domestic market alone.

The Australian Government’s targeted assistance to the sovereign industrial base in areas of strategic priority reflects strong confidence in Australian industry's ability to deliver and sustain world-leading capabilities – strengthening Australia’s security and supporting the ADF over the long term. Reflecting the challenging strategic circumstances, the Australian Government will invest a total of $765 billion in Defence over the next decade to 2033-34, including $330 billion for new capabilities identified in the 2024 Integrated Investment Program.

Australia welcomes strategic partners to help build a strong, resilient defence industry and to pursue export opportunities globally and across the Indo-Pacific. Investors benefit from:

  • a highly skilled workforce, with expertise in advanced manufacturing
  • major acquisition programs
  • government support for critical technologies
  • strong export opportunities with major allies and regional partners, including the AUKUS Partnership with the United States and United Kingdom
  • effective collaboration between academia, government and industry, including through the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA).

Leading international companies have a significant presence in the Australian defence market including: BAE Systems Australia, Thales Australia Limited, Hanwha Defense Australia, Rheinmetall Defence Australia and Boeing Defence Australia.

Australian Government's Global Supply Chain (GSC) Program is aimed at driving exports and increasing the number of Australian suppliers through the global supply chains of 13 participating international defence primes.

Australia is a trusted supplier of defence equipment and technology. Australian content contributes to some of the world’s most technologically advanced defence programs.

  • Australia’s priority export markets include: the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, India, Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea.
  • Defence Export Controls (DEC), within Australia's Department of Defence, regulates the export and supply of military and dual-use goods and technologies. It can provide assessment and advice on export permits.
  • At least 100 Australian built Boxers by Rheinmetall Defence will be exported back to Germany in a historic trade agreement between Australia and Germany.

Our small to medium enterprises are globally competitive and successful. Veteran owned The Whiskey Project Group is selling tactical watercraft to the US Marine Corps. SPEE3D’s automated Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing solution is being exported globally including to the UK, the US, Japan and Ukraine.

How we can help

Events

Australia holds 3 key defence events covering land, air and sea:

All 3 events bring together key domestic and international players in defence. This includes senior industry, government, and academia representatives; military and security end-users; and buyers. Participants meet to do business and explore opportunities for defence and industrial collaboration.

Austrade works closely with Australia's Department of Defence to support Team Defence Australia (TDA) at defence trade shows around the world. TDA is the premier national platform for export-capable Australian defence and dual-use companies. It showcases goods, services, technology and solutions to a global audience. Australia also supports target defence trade missions, building industrial collaboration with allies and partners.

Incentives, grants and support

Investors can access funding opportunities for defence-related initiatives in Australia.

Snapshot


Defence in Australia


Spending

Spending by Australia’s Department of Defence contributed $11.9 billion to the Australian economy in 2024-25, an increase of 12.4%.


Employment

Australian defence industries employed over 69,000 people in 2024-25, up 9.1%.


Major ongoing procurements

The AUKUS nuclear powered submarine project; 42 x M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS); 40 x UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters; 129 x Redback infantry fighting vehicles.

Source:
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Defence Industry Account, experimental estimates, April 2025

The cornerstones of the Australian Government’s strategy are the 2024 National Defence Strategy and 2024 Integrated Investment Plan.

The former establishes the strategic framework to guide significant and urgent changes required to address Australia’s challenging strategic circumstances. The latter provides a blueprint to deliver an ambitious transformation of the ADF to an integrated, focused force capable of safeguarding Australia’s security for decades to come.

Importantly, the strategy recognises the role that Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base plays in delivering and sustaining the capabilities that the ADF requires. The 2024 Defence Industry Development Strategy identifies 7 Sovereign Industrial Priorities that Defence requires in Australia:

  • Maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) of Australian Defence Force aircraft.
  • Continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment.
  • Sustainment and enhancement of the combined-arms land system.
  • Domestic manufacture of guided weapons, explosive ordnance and munitions
  • Development and integration of autonomous systems.
  • Integration and enhancement of battlespace awareness and management systems
  • Test and evaluation, certification and systems assurance

International partnerships remain critical to Australia’s security and prosperity. The Australian Government is committed to deepening and expanding its cooperation with the United States and the United Kingdom under the AUKUS Partnership to deliver Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program (Pillar One) and collaborate on a range of advanced technologies (Pillar Two).

Our national science agency CSIRO has expertise in defence research spanning early development to testing. Its projects include the Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies, the Artificial Intelligence roadmap, Bluelink ocean forecasting, and DARPA Challenge. Other organisations include:

  • Australian Defence and Industry Network (AIDN): is Australia's peak industry association representing small and medium enterprises in the defence sector. AIDN fosters collaboration across industry, with federal and state governments, and with large multinational defence enterprises (Primes) to grow Australia's defence and security. AIDN is a member of the Trade Diversification Network.
  • Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG): creates opportunities for partnerships between industry, academia and government. Focus areas include surveillance and space technologies; chemical, biological and radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defence, robotics and automation and cyber.
  • Australian Defence Science and Universities Network (ADSUN): helps collaboration between organisations and agencies in our defence ecosystem. ADSUN members include the Defence Science Centre (Western Australia), Defence Innovation Network (NSW), Queensland Defence Science Alliance, Defence Innovation Partnership (South Australia and NT), and the Defence Science Institute (Victoria and Tasmania).   
  • Trusted Autonomous Systems (TAS): Australia’s first Defence Cooperative Research Centre.
  • Defence Trailblazer: a new body led by the University of Adelaide and University of NSW (UNSW). Aims to transform the way researchers and industry work together to solve real-world defence problems. Most of the projects are led by small-medium enterprises. In 2025, 35 industry-led projects fast-tracking defence research and development (R&D) activities into commercial solutions. The projects involve 26 different industry partners and represent A$135 million of R&D activities aligned to strategic priorities.
  • Security & Defence PLuS: an academic research and educational collaboration between the UNSW, King’s College London and Arizona State University (ASU). It advances research aligned with the AUKUS Partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

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