Latest News from ADA-Vic

The Government has, 2 days ago, codified the practices to occur in the event of a decision by Government to deploy the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in a major military operation as a party to an armed conflict overseas.

The defence of Australia, its people and its national interests is a Government’s most important responsibility. The decision to engage in armed conflict is one of the most consequential options available to the Government in meeting this responsibility.

To this effect, the Government has released a Memorandum on Government Conventions Relating to Overseas Armed Conflict Decision Making. The Memorandum reaffirms that the decision to deploy ADF personnel into armed conflict is the prerogative of the Executive Government, while ensuring that Parliament has the opportunity to be informed and debate the deployment at the earliest opportunity to fulfil its important role in holding the Government of the day to account for its decisions.

The Government agreed in its response to the Inquiry into international armed conflict decision making by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade to codify practices relating to informing the Parliament about these decisions. In line with the Government’s Response, the Memorandum provides that:

the Prime Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate give a statement in both Houses of Parliament at the earliest opportunity and within 30 days of the deployment to inform a timely debate on the decision by the Executive;
a written statement be tabled in both Houses of Parliament outlining the objectives of any deployment; and
regular updates be given to Parliament during active deployments.

The Memorandum has been published on the website of the Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet at: https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/memorandum-government-conventions-armed-conflict

The Memorandum has also been tabled in Parliament.

General Purpose Frigate Down-selection of Shipbuilders

The Government has down-selected two shipbuilders, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, to progress designs for Australia’s future general purpose frigates.

The general purpose frigate program is part of the Government’s plan to ensure the Navy is equipped with a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet to respond to our strategic circumstances.

In May, Defence released an approach to market to five shipbuilders of the exemplar platforms identified by the Independent Analysis of Navy’s surface combatant fleet.

Defence will now work with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Australian industry partners to further develop the proposals for the Mogami and MEKO A-200 frigates.

The Government acknowledges the high-quality proposals put forward by each of the five exemplar shipbuilders. The proposals reflect the sophistication and maturity of the companies involved and the defence industries of Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Spain.

The Government is investing up to $55 billion over the decade, including up to $10 billion for the general purpose frigates, as part of a plan that will more than double the size of Navy’s surface combatant fleet compared with the former government’s plan.

Australia’s new general purpose frigates will replace the Anzac Class frigates and will be equipped for undersea warfare and local air defence in order to secure maritime trade routes and our northern approaches.

Read full press release>

Continued Investment in Defence with Selection of Landing Craft Heavy Design

The Government has selected a design by Damen Shipyards Group as the preferred option for the Australian Defence Force’s Landing Craft Heavy under a program that will bolster national defence by establishing a new littoral fleet.

This announcement is a significant step in the establishment of a littoral fleet which is expected to create 1,100 direct jobs and more than 2,000 indirect jobs under the Albanese Government’s plan for continuous naval shipbuilding in Western Australia.

The Government has prioritised the acquisition of new littoral manoeuvre capabilities and infrastructure to meet the aims of the National Defence Strategy. TThis recent announcement is the next stage in the transformation of the Australian Army to one focused on littoral manoeuvre and long-range strike.

The Damen Shipyards Group’s Landing Ship Transport 100 (LST100) will provide a capability which is essential to the restructure and re-posture of the Army. The vessels, along with Landing Craft Medium and amphibious vehicles, will support a strategy of denial which includes deploying and sustaining land forces with long-range land and maritime strike capabilities in littoral environments.

Eight Landing Craft Heavy vessels, based on the LST100, will be built by Australian shipbuilder Austal at the Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia, subject to acceptable commercial negotiations and demonstrated performance.

The LST100 vessel design has a 3,900-tonne displacement, is 100 meters long and 16 meters wide. It will be capable of operating with other vessels to undertake a range of tasks including troop insertion and extraction, logistics movements and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The vessel will be capable of carrying more than 500 tonnes of military vehicles and equipment – it is intended to carry six Abrams Tanks,11 Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles or 26 HIMARS - and will be fitted with self-defence weapons systems and Australian military communications.

Construction of the first Landing Craft Heavy is expected to start in 2026.

Read full press release >

Announcing the Avalon 2025 Blue-Sky Thinking Innovation Award

The Avalon 2025 Innovation Pitchfest and Awards program is breaking new ground with a visionary new category designed to inspire creativity and support emerging ideas.

The Blue-Sky Thinking Innovation Award is now open for entries, welcoming low-TRL (Technology Readiness Level) concepts that showcase bold, imaginative ideas - think lightbulb moments and the earliest sparks of innovation - to highlight ideas with the potential to redefine the future of Defence and aerospace.

Entries close Tuesday, 3 December, 1700 AEDT. Don’t miss this opportunity to bring your ideas into the spotlight and be part of shaping Australia’s future in Defence and aerospace innovation.

Submit your entry today!

Congratulations to Avalon 2025 Innovation Pitchfest and Awards Finalists

The Avalon 2025 Innovation Pitchfest and Awards spans four categories:

Innovation Award
Young Innovator Award
Emerging Technology Award
Blue-Sky Thinking Innovation Award (entries close Feb 3)

Finalists will pitch their innovation to an international audience onsite at Avalon 2025 on Tuesday 25th March with the category winners announced at the conclusion.

The winners of each category will receive a $40,000 cash prize and $10,000 will go to the Blue-Sky Thinking Innovation category, to contribute to further personal and innovation development.

There will be a bonus winning category on the day for Best Pitch that will receive a trophy prize only.

Read more about our finalists

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

Round 4 applications open for Tiers 1, 3 and representative bodies

The Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) online portal remains open for the following grant categories:

Tier 1 – ready to export
Tier 3 - exporting to new key markets
Representative bodies.

It will remain open until all funds are allocated. This may happen quickly, so don't delay.

Even if you lodge your application prior to the closure of the online portal, you may not be successful. This is because the grant funding may have been already fully allocated to other applicants.

EMDG Round 4 is closed for Tier 2

EMDG funding has been fully allocated for Tier 2 – exporting within existing markets. We have closed the online portal for applications for this tier.

If you missed out on applying for Tier 2, you may consider Tier 3 provided you meet all eligibility requirements.

Remember, you must submit your Export Market Development Grant application through the EMDG online portal. Make sure you have your information ready when you apply.

Once funding is fully allocated for Tiers 1, 3 and representative bodies, we will close the online portal for these applications too.

Please check the EMDG online portal for the funding allocation status for each tier. Make sure you follow the IT tips under the heading 'Improve your portal experience' to help you with a smooth lodgement process.

More info >

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!