November 2023 newsletter

The Federal Government has announced it is implementing key recommendations of the Defence Strategic Review, taking steps to align Defence with the challenges in Australia’s strategic environment. The DSR signals a shift from having a defence force with a broad range of capabilities to a much more focused force directed to maintaining the peace and security of our region.

Accordingly in restructuring the Army, Defence is moving from generalist combat brigades to specialist combat brigades. 1st Brigade in Darwin will be light, agile and quick to deploy in the littoral environment.

The DSR has also called for Army’s littoral manoeuvre capability to be accelerated and expanded, and the NT Government has been closely engaged with Defence, Army and shipbuilders to secure the basing and sustainment for this future capability. It is anticipated that the builder for the LMV-Medium under LAND 8710 Phase 1 will be announced in the coming months.

Changes to Army units and formations:

• The 1st Brigade, based in Darwin, will be a light combat brigade.
• The 3rd Brigade, based in Townsville, will be an armoured combat brigade.
• The 7th Brigade, based in Brisbane, will be a motorised combat brigade.
• The 10th Brigade, based in Adelaide, will be raised as a fires brigade.

Supported by the Territory’s Major Projects Commissioner, Mr Jason Schoolmeester and NT National Security Advisory Group member, LtGen  John Wissler USMC (Retd),  the DefenceNT industry delegation for Indo Pacific 2023 boasted the largest number of NT businesses to date.

The three-day event recorded a little over 27,000 attendances across the three days, up from 25,000 in 2022.  This was in addition to:

• 832 participating exhibitor companies/organisations from 21 nations, across a sold-out exhibition floor 13% larger than the previous record event in 2022.
• 171 defence, industry, government and academic delegations, from 46 nations. This is a 48% increase over 2022.
• More than 90 conferences, symposia and presentations across the three days of the event.

DefenceNT would like to thank the entire NT delegation for traveling to Sydney to attend Indo Pacific. These are local businesses, working in partnership with the NT Government to improve outcomes for the Territory’s defence industry. Thank you!

In response to the Defence Strategic Review, the Federal Government has conducted an analysis to ensure the size, structure and composition of Navy’s surface combatant fleet complements the capabilities provided by the forthcoming conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

The Independent Analysis Team engaged a range of government officials, Australian Defence Force personnel, industry experts and partners to assess the capability requirements needed to meet current strategic circumstances. The Federal Government is currently considering the analysis and its recommendations, and is expected to make announcements as a result of the review in early 2024.

DefenceNT awaits the outcomes of this review to inform the NT’s maritime industry and Marine Industry Park projects.

In October, the annual AIDN NT Gala Dinner was held to bring together Defence and defence related industries to celebrate the industry’s collective successes. This event also featured the announcement of the 2023 AIDN NT Young Achiever Award which was proudly sponsored by DefenceNT.

With 3 excellent finalists for the award, AIDN NT and DefenceNT were delighted to announce the 2023 AIDN Young Achiever of the Year winner, Mick Nicaisse from Cross Solutions. Mick has played a vital role on Defence projects as a Surveyor with Cross Solution working on the following projects:

• Delamere Air Weapons Range facilities, MES sites and access roads
• Tindal NACC 75 Squadron Facility upgrades
• Tindal runway and taxiway asphalt and Airfield ground lighting upgrades
• Bradshaw Field Training ground facilities and access roads
• Tindal Military working dogs compound refurbishment
• Tindal Stage 6 redevelopment
• Tindal United States Fuel Farm

Congratulations to Mick and the other finalists!

There are over 10,000 current and ex-serving veterans living in the Northern Territory (NT), which along with their families represent a significant percentage of our population and an even greater contribution to our economy and community.

Operation Thrive, the action plan to implement the NT Defence Veterans Strategy was launched with a media event earlier this month at the Mates4Mates Veteran and Family Hub at Stuart Park by the Chief Minister and Veterans Minister. The launch of Operation Thrive follows the release of the first NT Defence Veterans Strategy, which seeks to make the Territory an attractive and supportive environment for veterans and their families to live and work.

Operation Thrive is a multifaceted action plan focused on enhancing support for veterans and their families. This action plan focuses on employment and education opportunities, health and wellbeing initiatives and respect and recognition for veterans and their families.

The first activity of this plan recently saw over 30 doctors and General Practitioners (GPs) in the NT have access to new training that specialises in veteran health and wellbeing. This is the first of the several Operation Thrive initiatives. Other initiatives as part of Operation Thrive include a Check Your Mates peer led suicide prevention campaign, and a Cor Infinitus Memorial which will be rolled out over the coming months.

Read the NT Defence Veterans Strategy PDF (2.8 MB).

October Business Month has wrapped up for another year, delivering an incredible line up of events and workshops across the Territory for local Territorians and businesses.

Over 4800 attendees participated in the month-long program which included 133 events and workshops covering a range of topics, giving locals an opportunity to connect, learn and be inspired by an impressive line-up of keynote speakers, Territory Success Stories and Partners Events.

Keynote speakers and Partner Events were held rights across the Territory and covered a multitude of topics from building resilience, to evolving in a digital world, to the latest trends in cyber security and boosting your brainpower to reach your goals.

This year’s OBM also offered several defence specific events including the Defence 101 panel discussion and the Office of Defence Industry Support which were both well attended. These events provided good insight for businesses already engaged in the industry and newcomers to defence, learn about the supports available to prepare your business competitive advantage.

The OBM team is keen to continue to build on this year’s defence events. In order for them to do this, they are interested in your feedback so make sure you to participate in the OBM events survey that would have been emailed to you if you registered to attend an event.

Sitting within the Australian Defence Export Office, Team Defence Australia is the premier national platform for export-capable Australian defence and dual-use companies to showcase their goods, services, technology and solutions at international trade events.

Team Defence Australia works with defence industry, the Office of Defence Industry Support (ODIS), Austrade and state and territory governments to help prepare Australian delegation’s attendance at overseas trade shows and ensure they maximise their international exposure.

Team Defence Australia will continue to release expressions of interest for the industry delegations for these tradeshows via the ADEO ICN Gateway page.

For a list of 2024 trade shows and more information on the preparation and costs, go to the TDA website.

The Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) along with DefenceNT hosted the first NT ASCA forum in Darwin this month.

ASCA is taking a holistic approach to defence innovation; supporting the exploration of emerging and disruptive technologies, identifying innovations that can be rapidly adapted for military purposes and delivering asymmetric capabilities to Defence via Missions.

The forum provided stakeholders with an opportunity to hear from Professor Emily Hilder, Interim Head of ASCA, who outlined the inaugural Mission, the mission process and how participants can engage going forward.

Emily also provided an update on the Emerging Disruptive Technologies (EDT) program which focuses on shaping and future-proofing the innovation ecosystem.

This event was targeted towards industry, universities and other research providers who are interested in working with Defence to bring new and disruptive capabilities through innovation.

Projects in contract:

• Darwin Ship Lift Project
• EST00346 Tindal Redevelopment / EST00347 KC-30A Facilities
• RAAF Darwin Refresh Program
• USFPI Northern Territory Training Areas & Ranges Project 
• US Bulk Fuel Storage Facility
• Ventia Defence Base Services NT

EST9101PH1 Project Phoenix - Inter-Site Link Cables – ITR – HC-1 2021

Project EST9101PH1 will deliver facilities and infrastructure to enable the implementation of the Enhanced Defence High Frequency Communications System. Works will be undertaken in Riverina (NSW), Townsville (QLD), Darwin (NT), North West Cape (WA) and Canberra (ACT). The works for the package includes the installation of an in-ground fibre cable(s) between new and existing regional Receive and Transmit sites.

For more information, go to the AusTender website.

Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator - Emerging Disruptive Technologies - Exploration – 2023

EDT will invest in future forecasting and horizon scanning campaigns, drawing on subject matter expertise from DSTG, and build on enterprise level external engagement mechanisms to help nurture and shape the innovation, science and technology ecosystem to support the future force.

For more information, go to the AusTender website.

Airborne Solutions Opportunities – Aerial Surveillance Services

Leidos Australia is seeking to maximise opportunities available for Australian Industry for upcoming opportunities in 2023 and 2024, including small-to-medium-enterprises (SMEs) and Indigenous enterprises.

The scope requires Leidos to deliver aerial surveillance services including scheduled, targeted and persisted surveillance in real-time. The surveillance services will be required to be delivered in a diverse range of environmental and climactic conditions to detect, classify and identify any threats.

For more information go to the Leidos Australia website.

Senior Project Officer - Veterans Strategy

We have an exciting opportunity to join DefenceNT at a critical time where we are implementing the NT Defence Veterans Strategy. This position works with government, industry, ex-serving organisations and the broader community towards positive outcomes for veterans and their families.

For more information NTG Careers website.

Senior Project Officer - Industry Engagement

We are also recruiting for a Senior Project Officer to lead our industry engagement efforts. This position works with Defence, prime contractors and local industry to identify and access new business opportunities for the Territory.

For more information NTG Careers website.