Government awards $16.5 million in grants for defence manufacturing

The federal government has announced that grants have been awarded to more than 50 businesses across the country that provide priority defence capabilities.

The first rounds of the Defence Industry Development Grants program have been completed, with 58 grants worth $16.5 million awarded to Defence suppliers in four streams: export, skilling, security and sovereign industrial priorities.

More than 200 employees in defence businesses will receive new technical training through the skilling stream of the program. Several businesses will uplift their physical, personal and cybersecurity posture to meet Defence security requirements through the security stream of the program.

Four businesses in South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria were awarded grants of $1 million to directly support manufacturing under the sovereign industrial priorities stream, including components used in submarines, aerospace, guided weapons and explosive ordnance projects.

The grants will be used to make or acquire a diverse range of components, and support upskilling for production and development in areas such as rocket motors, armoured vehicles, radar and surveillance systems, communication systems, drone and anti-drone technologies, robotics, submarines and cybersecurity.

The competitive grant program is open to applications year-round and will provide matching grants of 50% until 2028. 

“This investment … in local businesses and jobs will provide vital support to people who are making a critical contribution to our national security and a future made in Australia,” said Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy. “The new Defence Industry Development Grants initiative creates one cohesive program, contributing to a stronger and more resilient sovereign defence industry that is able to meet the challenges of the future.”

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