Defence industry minister launches updated DIDS, announces reforms of Defence acquisitions

Building on the record defence spending committed under the 2026 National Defence Strategy and 2026 Integrated Investment Program, the new strategy positions industry at the very centre of national defence and economic security, forging a fresh era of partnership between government and the businesses that build, sustain and export Australia’s military capability.

Minister Conroy will unveil the strategy in an address to the National Press Club, titled “Progressive patriotism: A Labor approach to defence capability, defence industry and reform”.

“Industry policy is security policy, and the 2026 Defence Industry Development Strategy recognises the critical role defence industry plays in our national security,” Minister Conroy said.

Expanding on the theme in his Press Club address, the minister will say: “Progressive patriotism, in the eyes of the Albanese government, and the great labour movement is confidence in, and celebration of, what our national project has built ... Defence investment is at the heart of the confidence we must have in celebrating what our national project has built. Because that defence investment supports jobs. It supports skills. It supports research. It supports technological advancement. It supports manufacturing. It supports growing and deepening our self-reliance.”

The strategy sets firm targets for large defence primes to grow the defence industrial workforce, with a sharpened focus on apprenticeships while enhancing broader workforce initiatives designed to build the skills base Australia will need, lift STEM uptake, and deepen partnerships between Defence, industry and the education sector.

“In a world as complex and dynamic as ours is today, seeing defence at the heart of our approach to progressive patriotism is essential ... Building our defence industry – delivering the capabilities we need – is an investment in our country and offers the further dividend of deterrence to protect what our great national project has built,” Minister Conroy will tell the Press Club audience.

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The strategy delivers a suite of new funding and reform commitments, including:

• More than $17 million to extend the Defence Industry Internship Program, giving more university students hands-on experience across Australia’s growing defence industry.
• Close to $30 million to expand the Schools Pathway Program, encouraging school students into STEM subjects and defence industry careers.
• The Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle added as a priority export capability under the Australian Defence Strategic Sales Office.
• A reformed and relaunched US$3 billion Defence Export Facility – long underutilised since its 2018 establishment — with streamlined access for defence industry.
• An additional $80 million injected into Defence Industry Development Grants to build self-reliance and back Australian defence businesses.
• Streamlined procurement pathways to speed up capability delivery, including a “Continuous Capability Development and Delivery” model and a “Minimum Viable Contracting” approach.

Minister Conroy was emphatic that the push for self-reliance is about deterrence rather than escalation: “I want to be clear: the goal of growing our self-reliance is deterrence. We don’t want a fight. Labor invests in defence to deter aggression and maintain peace, stability and security. Failing to invest in defence leaves Australia vulnerable to aggression and coercion. Leaving Australia vulnerable to aggression will undermine our sovereignty.”

“And without sovereignty, we cannot pursue all the goals of a progressive political party: standing up for human rights, charting our own foreign policy and growing our economy through trade and exports,” he is expected to say.

To underpin delivery of these ambitions, Minister Conroy confirmed the formation of the Defence Delivery Group, a precursor to the formal stand-up of the Defence Delivery Agency. The reforms also formalise the position of National Armaments Director and consolidate capability development responsibilities under the Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF).

“Under this system, the VCDF is responsible for choosing the equipment the ADF needs. And the National Armaments Director is accountable for delivering it. The new Defence Delivery Group is already at work, led by interim National Armaments Director Nadine Williams. And the search for the permanent director is underway,” Minister Conroy will say.

“The NAD will report directly to ministers and provide strategic leadership and accountability at the highest level to deliver the critical capabilities we need. The Defence Delivery Group will operate for the next year, before it transitions into the Defence Delivery Agency,” he will say.

Closing his address, Minister Conroy framed the strategy as central to Australia’s long-term security and prosperity.

“A Future Made in Australia, by Australians – ready to protect and defend all that we hold dear. We have a critical role in ensuring the stability and security of a future world. This investment in self-reliance, in progressive patriotism, will help us fulfil that role – and do it in a way that recognises the country we are today, and protects the country we want to be tomorrow.”

More to come.

Stephen Kuper

Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.