Staying on track: The Defence Industrial Capability Plan

By 2028, Australia intends to operate a larger, more prepared defence industry, with the resident skills and expertise to meet current and potential capability requirements. In line with this goal, the Defence Industrial Capability Plan pointed to government investment in large-scale programs such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and naval shipbuilding programs.

This goes above and beyond the lip-service typically paid to these investment programs in Canberra. The ADF is undergoing significant modernisation (the greatest since the close of the Second World War) over the next five years, and the Integrated Investment Program will call for 10-20 per cent growth in the defence industry to meet these goals. 

Large-scale programs like SA's shipbuilding project are all too often plagued by employee shortages. Though tipped to create 15,000 jobs over the life of the program, Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price puts the current figures at 4,000. 

Employment efficiency

Obviously, this calls for moves to bring more potential employees into the fold. Maximum involvement in the defence sector can be stimulated by new models of skilling grants, improved accessibility for SMEs, and improving inclusion and gender diversity across the board. However, building Australian defence industry at a grassroots level also calls for efficiency in employment. Achieving the right balance of contingent and permanent employment will be a crucial component to this, and well as moves looking to attract multinationals to open Australian subsidiaries. Companies like SAAB Australia maintain strong ties to the nation, invest heavily in crucial R&D and technology areas, and employ hundreds of Australians. 

A recent ASPI piece, titled 'Australia needs to get smarter about building its defence industry workforce', questions whether defence industry employment efficiency is being achieved. This question is particularly important, given the labour shortages the country suffers in defence and defence-adjacent trades. 

The author, defence industry specialist Rob Kremer, writes in The Strategist that "the Australian worker is relatively immobile and is unlikely to move permanently between states for employment". On the back of controversy surrounding possible relocation of full-cycle docking work from South Australia to Western Australia, this point seems particularly germane. 

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Challenges faced

One of the move's most vocal opponents, Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick (SA), obtained an interim ASC report suggesting that almost half the South Australian workforce would be made redundant. The document states, in no uncertain terms, that "the greatest risk to the enterprise in considering the potential transition … to WA is the loss of skill, knowledge and capability that ensures the [Collins Class submarines] are safe and capable of performing the operational requirements".

Though this has been a hot-button debate topic, with WA Premier Mark McGowan making convincing arguments in support of the move. Kremer's key point about worker mobility seems to be missed by Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price. In a radio interview with ABC Adelaide's David Bevan, she said that Holden technical staff soon to face redundancy would be a good fit for the SA submarine program.

When quizzed on whether these employees would have to be open to relocating to WA alongside a potential shift of the submarine maintenance work, Minister Price seemed to assume that these workers are highly transient. "We have got 15,000 jobs that we are going to create with our ambitious shipbuilding program. We've currently got 4,000.  And where we get those people from, frankly, I don't care," she said.

"There's capability with those people who are about to be retrenched. People will come from all parts of Australia and, of course, I'm not just interested in the subs jobs. I'm also interested in people working on the frigate program with BAE and, of course, the LAND 400 program, currently Rheinmetall based out of Brisbane, but you know there's jobs and there's businesses right across the country who are actually sharing in the defence industry space."

Though calls for clarity on the SA submarine programs have been par for the course in recent months, Minister Price's comments show a short-sighted appreciation of concerns Holden staff might face in applying for these jobs. 

Other shortfalls Australia faces in maximising the defence industry employment market are linked to eligibility. As Kremer duly notes, obtaining visas or security clearances for non-citizens can be a particularly frustrating experience. Certain industries such as software engineering tend to be lacking in pre-cleared employees, and "it frustrates everyone when an experienced engineer from a Five Eyes nation ends up working in the rail sector because they’re ineligible for a security clearance and therefore can’t get work in defence".

Though DFAT has been working on new visas to facilitate migration for Commonwealth non-citizens seeking to work directly in the ADF, defence-adjacent industries have been left in the lurch. Some have questioned whether a similar approach is warranted for the defence industry; although it is unclear how this would be defined. 

Your thoughts

Arguments about gender diversity in defence industry also have their place in this discussion. According to some analysts, less than 20 per cent of defence industry employees, and less than one in seven defence industry managers, are women. Though the ADF has led several high-profile pushes for gender inclusion in historically male-dominated areas such as STEM and cyber, the "workforce behind the Australian Defence Force" is still obviously lacking in this area. 

The government of South Australia – the self-titled "Defence State" – provide a clear overview of other avenues that could be drawn on to maximise involvement in the years to come. In the state's Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Strategy (2018-2022), a number of other ideas are outlined. The document suggests establishing (and even subsidising) specific VET pathways for South Australian students, equipping them with the technical skills needed to transition smoothly into a defence industry career from senior school. Another proposal included supporting ex-service personnel to find employment in the defence industry through the Defence Teaming Centre (DTC). 

Let us know your thoughts and ideas supporting the next stages of identifying and developing Australia's national strategic industry capability in the comments section below, or get in touch with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..