The Department of Defence is undergoing a comprehensive and independent review to ensure that the organisation is more commercially driven and outcome-focused, giving the Australian Defence Force (ADF) access to the most cutting-edge capabilities in the world.
“We must ensure that we are taking full advantage of Australian innovations to maintain Defence’s capability edge while ensuring innovative businesses are given every chance of commercial success,” Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said.
“We need a Defence organisation that can capitalise on the knowledge and skills of Australian industry and academia to develop mission-focused technology that can solve Defence’s unique capability challenges.”
The review will examine the entire organisation to establish how it can effectively deliver more home-grown, innovative capabilities for the men and women of the ADF.
Aside from this, the review also seeks to do the following:
“Now, more than ever, we are looking to drive fit-for-purpose innovation where Australian industry and academia are partners in this critical mission,” Minister Price said.
“The innovation is being jointly developed with taxpayers’ funds and Australians need to know we are investing their money wisely.”
Minister Price announced that Rio Tinto Australia’s former managing director David Peever would lead the independent review and will provide a final report to Minister Price by the end of the year.
The review will provide recommendations to the following:
The review is a continuation of Minister Price’s ‘five pillars’ approach that will create substantial change in Australia’s defence industry.
Defence innovation programs, including the Next Generation Technology Fund and Defence Innovation Hub, will continue to operate as usual for the duration of the review.
Source: Department of Defence Media Release. Content has been edited for style and length.
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