Latest News from ADA-Vic

Another Step in Missile and Munitions Manufacturing in Australia Announced

The Government has taken another step towards rapidly establishing domestic manufacturing of missiles and munitions at scale under a plan that bolsters Australia’s defence capabilities while creating hundreds of jobs.

The Government yesterday announced Thales has been selected as the preferred tenderer to build a new domestic forging capability for 155mm M795 artillery ammunition.

The 155mm M795 artillery ammunition are used by Australia, the United States and other international partners for the M777A2 Light Towed Howitzer, a critical close-fires capability.

Defence will work with Thales as the preferred company to build, establish and commission the forge at the Commonwealth-owned Benalla Munitions Facility. This project is expected to support at least 550 jobs.

The forge will produce 15,000 rounds each year by 2028, with capacity to produce up to 100,000 for global consumption. It will also be the first dedicated forge outside of the United States that will manufacture 155mm M795 artillery ammunition.

Read full press release>

Release of the Australian Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Plan

The Government has unveiled its blueprint to rapidly deliver missile manufacturing in Australia and accelerate the acquisition of long‑range strike over the next decade.

The 2024 Australian Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Plan demonstrates the Government’s commitment to sovereign manufacturing capability and keeping Australians safe. Enhancing our strike capability and preparedness was one of Government’s initial six priorities in response to the 2023 Defence Strategic Review and is a priority under the 2024 National Defence Strategy and the 2024 Defence Industry Development Strategy.

The GWEO Plan provides certainty to Australian Defence industry on its role to boost the domestic manufacture of missiles and munitions and support the uplift of GWEO stockpiles in Australia.

The Government has backed this priority with $16–$21 billion of investment over the decade, representing five per cent of the Integrated Investment Program.

Taking into account investments in targeting and long-range strike, as well as missile defence, the Government has committed $58-$74 billion in the Integrated Investment Program over the decade towards capabilities that integrate with GWEO and contribute directly to enhancing our strike capabilities.

The Government has already announced key capability investments set out in the 2024 Australian GWEO Plan, including:

$850 million in partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to manufacture and maintain the Naval Strike Missile and the Joint Strike Missile from 2027 at a new facility to be built at Williamtown, near Newcastle;
$37.4 million in partnership with Lockheed Martin Australia to enable an initial batch of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) missiles to be manufactured in Australia from 2025;
$7 billion agreement with the United States to acquire the Standard Missile 2 Block IIIC (SM-2 IIIC) and Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) long-range missiles;
$142 million for the accelerated acquisition of the Joint Strike Missile, to be delivered from 2025;
up to $60 million over five years to develop hypersonic and long-range strike capabilities; and
$22 million over three years to seek options from industry to establish a manufacturing complex for the production of rocket motors in Australia.

Yesterday, the Government announced its commitment to an Australian facility, in partnership with Lockheed Martin Australia, to manufacture GMLRS missiles.

Site assessments for the new Australian facility are underway, with the facility to be operational by 2029. It will have the ability to manufacture a range of weapons and contribute production capacity to our trusted partners in the region and beyond.

Defence is continuing to work with industry and international partners to strengthen Australia’s munitions stockpiles and the industrial base for domestic manufacture of guided weapons and explosive ordnance.

Read full press release >

The Australian Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Plan can be accessed at https://www.defence.gov.au/about/strategic-planning/australian-guided-weapons-explosive-ordnance-plan

Defence Net Zero Strategy and Future Energy Strategy Released

On the 25th of October, Defence unveiled its Net Zero Strategy and Future Energy Strategy, designed to take practical action to reduce the impacts of climate change.

Climate change is a national security issue. It poses risks to Australia’s national interests and exacerbates geostrategic risks. The shift to net zero not only contributes to making Australians safer but also enhances Australia's standing in the Indo-Pacific.

As the Australian Government’s largest landholder and energy user, Defence has developed plans to reduce its emissions and increase reliable renewable energy.

By investing in clean energy, investigating opportunities for adopting lower-carbon fuels and preparing for future energy needs, Defence will contribute to a cleaner, safer environment and more resilient Australia, without compromising military preparedness or operational requirements.

Read full press release >

First Nations Business Information Series - Estimating & Pricing

BAE Systems are pleased to present a series of information & knowledge sessions for First Nations businesses interested in knowing more about BAE Systems Australia and our supply chain. These easy to attend online sessions will equip participants with greater understanding of defence industry and help navigate supplying to BAE Systems Australia.

Hosted by the Industry Capability Team, Session #2 topic:

Estimating & Pricing - A condensed hour-long version of the popular Global Access Program Estimating and Pricing Fundamentals course. This session will help you to understand the basic principles of estimating and pricing used within BAE Systems Australia.

Date: Thursday 7 November 2024
Length: 1 hour
Time: 2:30-3:30pm Melbourne-time | 2-3pm Adelaide-time | 11.30am-12.30pm Perth-time
Online: MS Teams
Registration: Calendar invite following registration, active link provided on the day
Cost: Free

If you are interested in attending this session, please register here via our survey form.

If you have any questions regarding this series please contact Damien Halliday directly on damien.halliday@baesystems.au

New Grants for Accelerators and Investor Education

Grants of up to $1.5 million are available for accelerator programs requiring ongoing funding to sustain their operations in Victoria.

Additionally, a grant of up to $1 million is available to fund an investor education program, equipping early-stage investors with the confidence and knowledge to back emerging startups.

Dr. Kate Cornick, CEO of LaunchVic, said supporting more startups to scale and increasing early-stage funding are key pillars of LaunchVic’s new strategy, which will be unveiled soon.

To date, LaunchVic has funded 15 accelerator programs that have supported over 600 startups, helping them secure more than $328 million in critical capital.

Additionally, 200 investors have participated in LaunchVic-funded investor education programs, resulting in $84 million in startup investment being unlocked.

The Victorian startup ecosystem has experienced significant growth in recent years, with the number of startups increasing to more than 3,500 and the ecosystem’s value rising to $129.3 billion.

Information sessions for the new grants will take place on Tuesday, 29 October. Applications for both grants are due by Tuesday, 19 November 2024.

For more information visit: https://launchvic.org/grants

For media enquiries, please contact: kate.gittings@launchvic.org

The EMDG program provides grants to Australian small and medium enterprises and their representative bodies to:

market and promote their goods and services globally
undertake export training

The EMDG Round 4 will be the next round to open for applications. There will be different opening dates for representative bodies and each tier. The times and dates are: 

Representative bodies, applications open AEDT 10am on 6 November
Tier 1 – ready to export, applications open AEDT 10am on 12 November
Tier 2 – exporting within existing markets, applications open AEDT 10am on 12 November
Tier 3 – exporting to new key markets, applications open AEDT 10am on 12 November.

For detailed information on Round 4, read the Round 4: EMDG Grant Guidelines here.

AUKUS Licence Free Environment

Under the Defence Trade Controls Amendment Act 2024 (DTC Amendment Act), Australia has established a licence-free environment to promote strategic collaborations with our Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) partners.

The licence-free environment exempts certain Defence and Strategic Goods List (DSGL) goods technology, services from permit requirements when transferring between Australia, the United States and/or the United Kingdom.

The JOSCAR-AU system was established following an initiative led by a growing number of prime contractors as registered buyers together with the Commonwealth Government.

JOSCAR-AU is a cross-sector collaborative solution that reduces the time, cost, resources and duplication currently needed to provide information to major prime customers. Holding common supplier information in a central system, the JOSCAR-AU accreditation system allows information to be accessed by all participating buying organisations.

JOSCAR-AU is designed to make the process of pre-qualification or accreditation as efficient as possible – saving your company a significant amount of the time, effort and cost associated with working for multiple clients.

Hellios enables more effective compliance with client requirements for business through a single process. Your initial registration will determine the level of pre-qualification or accreditation that your clients require, based on an automated risk profile.

Expert advice is provided throughout the process to guide you including identifying potential business improvement opportunities that may increase your competitive advantage.

Registration on JOSCAR-AU is either by invitation from your registered JOSCAR-AU buyer or via self nomination. If your buyer has asked you to complete the JOSCAR-AU questionnaire, they will contact Hellios directly on your behalf. Hellios will then process this request and send a link to the questionnaire for you to complete. If you would like to self nominate, please reach out at joscar@hellios.com.au.

BAESA/GAP Industry Training: Estimating For Defence

BAE Systems Australia and the Global Access Program are pleased to once again offer Estimating & Pricing Industry Training during 2024.

Delivering competitive and defendable proposals for Defence requires a variety of estimating techniques to build robust, credible and defendable Basis of Estimates. Learn how to challenge your cost base, supplier quotes, estimates and price, and submit a compliant proposal that meets customer requirements, represents value for money, and can survive a cost investigation.

Estimating For Defence is a two day course developed by Estimating & Pricing (E&P) at BAE Systems Australia, and delivered in partnership with the Global Access Program (GAP).

To register, please click on the BAE Systems supplier portal link now - http://BAESystemsSupplierPortal.icn.org.au

If you require any further information, please contact Megan Allan directly on megan.allan@baesystems.au.

Open to Industry partners Based in Australia, Canada, and the UK

The Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) aims to coalesce and expand the defense industrial base (DIB) in support of the Manufacturing, Capability Expansion, and Investment Prioritization Directorate (MCEIP) critical sectors and additional areas of interest. To align with the recent modification to the definition of Domestic Source for Title III of the Defense Production Act, and in keeping with the MCEIP vision of delivering a resilient U.S. supply chain and workforce able to respond in times of national security crisis, DIBC is excited to announce that we are opening membership to Industry partners in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. This increased level of collaboration will aid the DIBC in achieving MCEIP’s mission and vision.

The application to become a DIBC member can be found here. International members will need to apply for a NCAGE Code and UEI prior to joining DIBC. To apply for a NCAGE code, each organization will need to register at https://sam.gov/. Instructions on how to register can be found here.

If you have questions about the application process, please feel free to reach out to dibconsortium@ati.org.

SME Connect Programs

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has announced a $20 million investment to provide small to medium enterprises (SMEs) with greater access to vital research and development (R&D) opportunities to accelerate their growth.

The funding will allow CSIRO’s SME Connect team to support up to 750 SMEs through a range of programs and initiatives that provide facilitation, training, dollar-matched funding and support to start-ups and SMEs seeking to engage in company-led research projects.

One of the programs being supported is SME Connects flagship program, CSIRO Kick-Start. Since its inception in 2017, the Kick-Start program has facilitated over 280 company-led R&D projects, with alumni companies collectively holding a market value exceeding $2 billion.

Dr Doug Hilton, CSIRO’s Chief Executive, emphasised the significance of this investment and the transformative impact it would have for Australia’s critical SME sector.

The Victorian Land Systems Fund – Supply Chain Uplift Program will support Victorian defence industry businesses to work with Hanwha Defense Australia (Hanwha) as part of its supply chain. The program will help build businesses’ capabilities so they can help Hanwha deliver the Commonwealth Government’s $1 billion Land 8116 Self-Propelled Howitzer program.

Funding will support eligible Victorian businesses to:

gain relevant accreditations and meet industry specific compliance requirements
prepare tenders
undertake minor facilities upgrades and equipment fit outs
develop new or enhance current defence products or services
undertake defence R&D
participate in trade missions to pursue collaboration and export opportunities.

Businesses must engage with Hanwha and receive its support before applying.

Applications to the Victorian Land Systems Fund Supply Chain Uplift Program are now open and close on 30 June 2024 or until funds have been exhausted.

Defence Industry Development Grants Program

The Defence Industry Development Grants Program (the program) will award grants over four years from 2024-25 to 2027-28. The program was announced as part of the Defence Industry Development Strategy.

The objective of the program is to build the industrial base Australia needs to achieve Defence outcomes in areas of strategic priority.

The Defence Industry Development Grants Program funds four distinct grant opportunity streams tailored to address the program outcomes:

Sovereign Industrial Priorities
Skilling
Exports
Security.

These four grants opportunities will be assessed in batches. We will regularly update the closing dates for each batch on this page. You can apply at any time.

All projects are due to be completed by 31 Mar 2028.

About the streams

The Sovereign Industrial Priorities stream will assist eligible small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to purchase manufacturing plant and equipment which is used directly to develop and/or deliver programs that are in line with the Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities (SDIPs) described in the Defence Industry Development Strategy.

The Skilling stream helps Australian defence industry to upskill and train in priority trade, technical and professional skillsets to develop a workforce with the right mix of qualified and experienced personnel to meet Defence requirements. The program will enhance the capacity and capability of Australian defence industry workforce to deliver SDIPs described in the Defence Industry Development Strategy.

The Exports stream provides support for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to overcome export barriers and help defence industry build scale and competitiveness in defence capability priority areas as identified by the SDIPs described in the Defence Industry Development Strategy.

The Security stream helps Australian defence industry improve and maintain security in priority areas as identified by the SDIPs and in line with the Defence Industry Security Program.

More info >

Industry Growth Program - Support for Innovative SMEs to Commercialise and Grow their Business

The program supports innovative small and medium enterprises undertaking commercialisation and/or growth projects within the National Reconstruction Fund priority areas through advisory services and opportunities for matched grant funding. Minor changes or improvements to existing products or services are not considered innovative.

You will be connected to an Industry Growth Program Adviser who will provide tailored advice to support your commercialisation and/or growth project.

Once you have received this advice, you may also be able to apply for:

grants of $50,000 to $250,000 to support early-stage commercialisation projects
grants of $100,000 to $5 million for commercialisation and growth projects.

More info >

Australian Space Industry Capability Database

The Australian Space Industry Capability database will open for industry submissions from mid-July. Companies can upload information on their:

• Location

• Capability

• Workforce

The database has been developed by SIAA and is supported by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), the Australian Space Agency, the Office of Defence Industry Support and SmartSat CRC.

Australia Partner Network

Leidos Australia is focused on working with Australian Industry for delivery of all of our projects. We know the importance of supporting the growth of sovereign capability and would like to work with more Australian businesses at all stages of our delivery lifecycle.

We encourage Australian companies, who are interested in working with us on the opportunities identified above or on other business requirements as they arise, to complete the following registration form.

In your submission, you should highlight your experience with any relevant Defence, Intelligence, ICT and cyber capabilities and technologies. Our team will then be in touch to identify potential next steps.

ODIS provides a range of grants to support defence industry businesses. These grants help Australian small and medium enterprises grow to meet Defence capability needs and join global defence industry supply chains.

Click here to learn more about available grants

The ODIS Defence Business Readiness Tool (DBRT) is a platform used by our Industry Engagement Team to assess the Defence Readiness of Australian Small and Medium Enterprises. The DBRT is the first step in the journey to becoming a supplier to Defence.

To use this secure tool you must have an account. You can either sign in with an existing account or create a new one. You will need to provide your Australian Business Number (ABN) when registering your account.

Get Defence Ready with DBRT 2.0 and unlock the true potential of your SME within the Defence industry!