The Morrison Government is delivering on its commitment to a new, innovative sustainment model for the Royal Australian Navy fleet, with a $1 billion investment to establish a naval regional maintenance
centre at the Garden Island Defence Precinct in Sydney.
Minister for Defence, the Hon Peter Dutton MP said the investment is part of the government’s Continuous Naval Shipbuilding program and the imminent release of a request for tender is a
significant opportunity for industry in the Sydney region.
“When Labor were last in government they slashed defence funding and delayed major projectscreating a ‘valley of death’ in Australia’s defence industry,” Minister Dutton said.
“This new approach aims to mitigate the ‘boom and bust cycle’ by providing long term work packages and removing barriers to entry for small and medium enterprises.
“By adopting this new approach, the Morrison Government is opening up opportunities for local small and medium enterprises to be involved in building our sovereign defence industry and reducing administration for the workforce, making it easier to do business with Defence.”
Regional Maintenance Centre East is planned to be operational by mid-2024 and will initially support the three Hobart class destroyers and HMAS Choules, with additional Sydney-based capabilities including the Canberra class Landing Helicopter Dock ships and their landing craft, one Supply class auxiliary oiler and two Anzac class frigates being considered for inclusion during the initial contract term.
“The Morrison Government has identified and established naval regional maintenance centres in Cairns, Darwin and Henderson,” Minister Dutton said
“This tender will see the Government meet its commitment to the establishment of four regional maintenance centres in a national network to provide continuous sustainment of the Navy’s fleet around Australia.
“The successful tenderer for this maintenance centre will play an integral role in planning, managing and delivering maintenance at Garden Island, the home of Navy’s major fleet units and a strategic asset for delivery of naval capability.”
The partnership will deliver complex naval capability and is expected to inject more than $1 billion into the Sydney region economy over the next five years.
“This brings the initial investment across the network of four regional maintenance centres to approximately $1.327 billion that will initially create close to 200 direct jobs,” Minister Dutton said.
“As we have seen with other regional maintenance centres, the provision of this crucial sustainment work provides significant long-term job opportunities for direct and indirect workforce, with the number of workers rising as the scope of services increases over the initial five year period of the contract.
“This another piece of the record $270 billion investment by the Morrison Government to support the men and women of the Australian Defence Force,” Minister Dutton said.
“Only the Morrison Government a plan to manage our economy and invest in the capabilities and the facilities today to keep our country safe and secure into the future.”