Defence industry

Defence Industry in Rockingham

Rockingham Defence Industry

Minutes from the heart of Rockingham, Fleet Base West is located at HMASStirling on Garden Island and is the Royal Australian Navy’s largest base in Australia. 

At present, 12 fleet units including Anzac Class frigates and Collins Class submarines are stationed here, along with an additional 70 units including the Submarine Training and Systems Centre, Submarine Escape Training Facility (one of only six in the world), Clearance Diving Team Four, and the Defence Communications Station Perth.

Under the planned Navy Capability Infrastructure Sub-Program, HMAS Stirling will become homeport to additional Hunter Class frigates, Arafura Class offshore patrol vessels and SSN-AUKUS class submarines when they come into service. This will result in significant expansion, sustainment and maintenance opportunities in the coming years.

As part of the AUKUS program announced in March 2023, HMAS Stirling will continue to be the home of Australian submarines. The base will be receiving frequent port visits from the UK and US nuclear-powered submarines (SSN) from the second half of 2023, rotational presence from as early as 2027 and housing of Australia's first SSN capability - the US Virginia class submarine from the early 2030s. 

The Australian Government will invest up to $8 billion over the next decade to expand HMAS Stirling, creating around 3,000 direct jobs and in turn, supporting growth of the local economy. This includes wharf upgrades, operational maintenance, logistics and training facilities, and other opportunities for supporting infrastructure outside of HMAS Stirling.

Defence Industry Update

This initiative from the City’s Economic Development Strategy 2020–2025 will take place annually until 2025, and provides valuable knowledge and understanding of the defence industry and up and coming Defence sector opportunities within the Rockingham region for local businesses, where $8 billion will be invested in infrastructure over the next 10 years. 

There are three parts to this initiative:

  • Part 1 - the City of Rockingham has been running a series of workshops and events to support local businesses to become Defence Ready. In-person workshops were designed to provide need-to-know information and critical insights to help businesses prepare and tender for work in the Defence supply chain.
  • Part 2 - a series of events were designed to meet with key leaders to assess up and coming projects, pitfalls and opportunities, collate the knowledge, and give local businesses firsthand networking opportunities.
  • Part 3 - the Defence Industry Update is an event designed to provide a short, sharp, updated briefing of the outcomes from parts 1 and 2. Presented by key stakeholders within the Defence and defence-related industry supply chain, this initiative provides opportunity for local businesses to find out more about the up and coming work available in the local area.

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Defence Ready Business Workshops

To further support local businesses to participate in the estimated $8 billion infrastructure projects set to occur at HMAS Stirling (Fleet Base West) on Garden Island, the City partnered with Business Foundations to deliver a series of Defence Ready Business Workshops. 

Previous workshop topics included:

  • business strategy to become a defence contractor
  • understanding defence contracts
  • preparing your workforce for a defence contract
  • defence industry security program (DSIP).

More workshops will be planned in the near future and advertised accordingly for interested stakeholders.

Resources for the Defence industry

  • The Office of Defence Industry Support (ODIS; formerly the Centre for Defence Industry Capability, or CDIC) is a Federal Government organisation tasked with helping small business connect, build, innovate and export in the defence industry.
  • Defence West is a State Government organisation responsible for growing the local defence industry and advocating and driving strategic projects to increase the capability and output of WA’s defence industry. 
  • The Defence Business Readiness Tool is a secure, stand-alone web-based system (provided by ODIS) that allows SMEs to assess themselves against industry best-practices for Defence suppliers, help them understand what it means to be ‘Defence Ready’ and prioritise actions to help them grow their Defence business capability.

Defence Business Readiness Tool 

The Office of Defence Industry Support (ODIS) presents the Defence Business Readiness Tool 2.0 (DBRT), which is a secure, stand-alone, web-based system designed exclusively for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to evaluate their readiness for opportunities to become a Defence supplier and helps them enhance their Defence business capabilities. SMEs can assess their Defence readiness within the Defence industry by visiting the Defence Business Readiness Tool (DBRT 2.0) website.

Defence Submarine Program - Industry Portal

Defence is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from potential Australian suppliers who may be able to offer their products and services in support of the nuclear powered submarine programs of Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. Suppliers interested in participating are requested to respond to the EOI - Supplier Capability Questionnaire EOI by visiting the Nuclear Powered Submarine program - Industry Portal.

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