The Australian Government has announced a planned investment of between $168 and $183 billion to establish a secure, sustainable, continuous, National Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise, as laid out in the 2017 Naval Shipbuilding Plan, and expanded under the 2020 Force Structure Plan.
As the largest capital investment ever undertaken in Australia, the National Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise represents an entirely new direction in the way Australia underpins its national security interests.
The Enterprise is about more than building ships, submarines and shipyards – it will establish a long-term sustainable Australian naval shipbuilding and sustainment capability that will generate industry growth and develop secure Australian jobs for the future.
Modernisation of our naval force is a complex, national endeavour that requires consistent, long-term planning, decision-making and commitment to the sustained development of the naval shipbuilding industry, infrastructure and workforce. To succeed and maximise broad benefits for Australia, an unprecedented and genuine whole-of-nation, whole-of-industry and whole of-government coordinated approach is required.
The Enterprise will need time to skill and grow the workforce and build a competitive shipbuilding industrial base, in order to create the enduring naval shipbuilding capability that is required.
Significant progress has been made in establishing the Enterprise since the release of the Plan, including major decisions regarding our new naval capabilities and upgrading the infrastructure of our shipyards.
Launched in April 2020, Plan Galileo sets the scene for naval sustainment objectives through to 2025, with a focus on the development of Regional Maintenance Centres in Sydney, Perth, Darwin and Cairns.
Achieving a National Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise is a long-term endeavour, which will greatly benefit Australians for decades to come.