Australia Unveils 2026 Defence Industry Development Strategy

Overview

• The government released the strategy on Thursday, July 2, 2026, and announced an extra A$80 million for the Defence Industry Development Grants program to lift its planned total to A$250 million through 2030.
• A recent grant round awarded more than A$22 million to 60 firms, bringing total DIDG payouts to over A$73 million since the program began in June 2024 and supporting suppliers for submarines, guided weapons, aerospace, robotics and sustainment.
• The plan reforms and relaunches the underused A$3 billion Defence Export Facility to help firms win overseas contracts and names the Australian-built Anduril Ghost Shark autonomous underwater vehicle as a priority export capability.
• A new Defence Delivery Group will be established now and turned into a Defence Delivery Agency within a year to merge major acquisition and sustainment bodies and drive procurement changes such as Continuous Capability Development and Minimum Viable Contracting to speed delivery.
• The strategy sets targets for prime contractors to grow the local defence workforce, funds internships and school-pathway programs, and builds on April’s National Defence Strategy and Investment Plan to try to fix long-running late and over-budget project delivery while creating more skilled manufacturing jobs.