Latest Defence News from ADA-Vic

Hi there,

The flavour of the year has not changed since last week and there are even more opportunities in the defence industry this week.

There have been a lot of significant announcements made this year; this week has been no different, with the Government's new "AIC assurance & contractual draft frameworks" being released by the Ministers for Defence and Defence Industry for review. This also includes a review into the Australian Standard for Defence Contracting (ASDEFCON) to be overseen by Minister Price, see more information below.

There is a lot of great information circulating via webinars during the COVID era. They are a quick and easy way to gain a lot of concise knowledge. There are more fantastic opportunities to hear about how you can get involved in upcoming projects and also ways to develop your company to be able to do Better Business in Defence this week.

After the very popular (120 + members attended) Cyber webinar event that we hosted with Thales last week, there were a large number of members interested to learn more about Cyber Resilience.

As mentioned above the defence industry is still one of the best places to be for continued work packages from the Government and opportunities from within industry (to boost the economy). Grant funding is a part of these opportunities, helping to boost Sovereign Industry Capability (SIC).

There has never been a better time to secure your piece of the Defence investment (proposed at half a trillion + dollars over the next decade!)... especially if you are in the IT or Cyber Security sectors.

Reach out today, to see how ADA-Vic can enable you to do Better Business in Defence info@australiandefencealliance.org.au

Keep reading below for a number of upcoming industry events and announcements. These are all helpful resources for our members to help you understand and navigate the Defence Industry.

From the Government

AIC and ASDEFCON Announcement = Strengthening How Australian Defence Does Business with Australian Industry, Draft Framework here.
CDIC Review Finalised - see media release here and download the Final Report
Skilling Australia's Defence Industry (SADI) Grants "Open for Applications", more here
Cyber defence & security innovation (ICERA) Grants for SMEs, more here
Commonwealth launches Moon to Mars - Capability Grants program, more here
Defence Exports Office - offers 'Pitching Your Business' course Free of Charge (FOC)
Morrison Government passes legislation to get small business paid 'on time... more here

Industry Events & Opportunities

Leidos calls for Industry participation in SEA 129 Phase 5 project, portal here
Lockheed Martin calls for EOI for their 'Missile and Fire Control', portal here
Northrop Grumman calls for EOI for their 'Space Systems Project', portal here
Hanwha opens the doors to Australian supply chain, more info here, sign-up portal here
ASC P/L calls for industry to be part of submarine sustainment program, portal here
BAE Systems calls for industry participation for their Global Access Program, portal here
AMGC has released a report "ten steps to succeed in Australian Manufacturing", more here
24th Sept. Austrade - "Accelerating Defence Innovation Australia & UK", more here
30th Sept. Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) - "UK opportunities for Australia", more here
30th Sept. Boeing hosts Australian Additive Manufacturing Forum Opps & Challenges, more here
CDIC - "Defence Industry Insights" webinar series has been recorded and is available, more here
Australian Military Sales Catalogue = get in Quick... more here

AIC has been a sensitive topic of conversation amongst all stakeholders within Defence, Government and industry for some time.

Aligned to the requirements of the 2019 Defence Policy for Industry Participation, Defence is introducing:

a risk-based AIC assurance framework that includes the independent AIC Plan audit program; and,
an enhanced AIC contractual framework.

The Ministers for Defence and Defence Industry have released a plan with a draft framework for review and feedback into the Australian Standard for Defence Contracting (ASDEFCON) to be overseen by Minister Price.

A ‘five pillars’ approach to support industry and change the way we do business with industry includes:

The new and enhanced AIC contractual framework
The Independent AIC Plan Audit Program
The Commonwealth Procurement Rules update
The CDIC Review and its implementation
The ASDEFCON Review

Defence will provide further specific detail on what these significant AIC changes mean to your business.

The Minister decided to initiate the review into ASDEFCON after taking on board the helpful feedback from the Defence Industry and conversations with additional stakeholders.

This is expected to lead to substantial reform to the way Defence contracts with industry affecting those who contract directly with Defence and also those business in the supply chain as well.

The Terms of Reference of this review and its consultation process will be confirmed and released in November.

Additional things to note:

Cyber Security

Defence companies continue to be targeted by a sophisticated state-based actor
All defence companies should register as a partner with the Australian Cyber Security Centre
All defence companies should commit to the Australian Signals Directorate’s Essential Eight cyber security controls
The Commonwealth Government’s Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020 can be found here

Cyber Resilience Event for SMEs and supply chain

Thales, in partnership with ADA-Vic, presented a webinar to support SMEs and the Thales SME partners by demystifying cyber security and digital threat readiness to build a future we can all trust.

This event provided practical and actionable information on securing your digital assets and cloud based technology; unpacking what it means to be Cyber resilient.

Protecting physical and digital assets from cyber-attack is critical to the future of Australian supply chains.