The federal government will establish a new ‘tripartite’ Defence Industry Council made up of representatives from government, industry and the unions to oversee the development of a sovereign defence industrial base.
It is understood the new council would be chaired by Defence Industry minister Pat Conroy and include Industry and Science minister Ed Husic as a member.
Plans for the council were disclosed as part of government’s Defence Industry Development Strategy announcement on Thursday.
The council is an “avenue for communications” between government, industry and the unions focused on “ensuring a collaborative, whole-of-nation approach to developing the sovereign defence industrial base” required to meet the needs of Australia’s Defence establishment.
Minister Conroy said he had worked closely with the Industry portfolio “in the formulation of the strategy” and that it was important that Industry minister Ed Husic joins that Defence Industry Council.
The Defence Industry Development Strategy also outlined a role for the proposed Joint Statutory Committee on Defence in providing transparency oversight on the delivery of both defence capability, as well as the development of a industrial base to support national security.
The JSCD, which has not been formalised, was proposed last year to allow parliamentary scrutiny in high profile matters, such as the behaviour of armed services personnel (as highlighted by the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case) or the acquisition of nuclear submarines.
The strategy says parliamentary oversight should also extend over Defence procurement decisions as they support industrial development – for transparency purposes and to examine value-for-money questions.
Minister Conroy outlined incoming reforms to Defence procurement scheme aimed at “reducing the time it takes to receive project and contract approvals to deliver capability at speed,” while at the same time simplifying and reducing paperwork.
“Utilising the complex Defence contract template should be the last resort, not the first, and we will begin this work immediately, with tangible outcomes by the end of the year,” Mr Conroy said.
“Defence will take on a more tailored approach to procurement based on the urgency and risk profile of the project… and will establish more strategic partnerships with industry that offer more certainty and create economies of scale.
“And long-term strategic partnerships have the potential to deliver better capabilities by supporting industry on the journey from innovation and adaptation to evolution of capabilities.
By the end of this year, Defence wants to have simplified and reduced the information required during tender process “to ask only what is necessary for source selection”, with further information requirements pushed to latter stages.
The complex and strategic materiel templates under the Australian Standard for Defence Contracting will also be simplified into a set of common core requirements, while other templates will be updated with “better guidance on how they should be used based on delivery risk”.
Mr Conroy also highlighted that all Defence contracts will continue to require Australian Industry Capability plans, which detail how large businesses will make use of the domestic industrial base.
“The Albanese government is committed to a future made in Australia. Defence industry is an essential part of that future,” Mr Conroy said.
Defence’s deputy secretary of the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group Chris Deeble said Defence takes a whole of government view of industry development.
“Defence industry sits within Australian industry writ large, and we have to ensure that we dovetail the opportunities,” Mr Deeble said.
“So, we’re taking into account things like the NRF fund, those are aspects that are important to us when we work with Industry.”
