No images? Click here Message from the Executive Director Defence WestLast week we were fortunate to have our Defence Advocate, Rear Admiral (Rtd) Raydon Gates AO CSM, visit WA for the first time since COVID-19 caused travel restrictions. It was fantastic to have RADM Gates in town and visit local defence industry companies and provide them valuable advice, including chairing the Defence Advisory Forum. Despite the COVID-19 disruptions, the local defence industry has risen to the occasion and provided great support to our men and women in uniform. In February, WA had to grapple with a week-long lock down and Defence West worked hard to help our local industry. We successfully amended the Stay at Home and Closure Directions so defence industry workers were classified as essential. Essential worker means: A person who performs work that is essential for the continued operation of: manufacturing, fabrication or assembly of goods and materials necessary for or related to supporting defence or security industries. This is a significant development for WA's defence industry and will provide more certainty to businesses and workers. The team is busy helping manage the infrastructure upgrades at the AMC and is working through the significant amount of interest in developing a large vessel dry berth. An LVDB would be a game changer for our industry and potentially create thousands of jobs over many decades. It is very exciting. We are still waiting for a decision on the Collins class Full Cycle Docking but we continue to advocate for the work to move west. The team are gearing up to attend Land Forces in Brisbane in June and we are looking forward to hosting more than twenty companies on the Defence West stand. I can also confirm planning has commenced to hold the 2021 WA Indo-Pacific conference in October. This will bring together leaders from around the world to discuss strategic challenges and opportunities for the defence industry. Defence West looks forward to continuing to help grow the local defence industry and assist our innovative businesses win more work. If we can help you in anyway, please contact us. Matt Moran Executive Director Defence West Message from the Western Australian Defence Advocate The Deputy Secretary of the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, Tony Fraser, hosted the regular teleconference for Defence Advocates, state departments and defence industry associations with the Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Melissa Price MP earlier this month. While it was Minister Price’s second teleconference for the year, Tony Fraser remarked that it was the Minister’s 47th conference call with this body since the pandemic arose just over 12 months ago; an impressive commitment. Key points arising from the meeting were:
Minister Price began her meeting by noting that the rollout of vaccines for COVID-19 had commenced in Australia. While the full program will be over 6 months, the Government is hoping that some ‘normality’ can return to the economy sooner. To promote economic recovery and jobs in the industry, the Minister highlighted some recent incentives such as the wage subsidy scheme for apprentices and trainees will continue for another year. Under the scheme, 50% of the wages of apprentices and trainees are subsidised. She also raised the $1.3 billion MMI. This matched government funding is designed to support manufacturers to become competitive, resilient and scale-up. Businesses with projects in the space sector are the first to be able to apply for grants to help them commercialise ideas or processes, or integrate into global supply chains. Space is the first of six National Manufacturing Priorities, with the remaining road maps to be released in coming weeks to coincide with the opening of their respective MMI funding rounds. The remaining road maps are; Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing, Food and Beverage, Medical Products, Recycling and Clean Energy, and Defence. She also stated that the Skilling Australia's Defence Industry (SADI) Grants had been expanded into broader areas including technical and trade training, improved human resources and on the job training. The Minister was pleased with the interest in the ASDEFCON Review with 247 responses received. These responses will be reviewed and provide guidance to the next phase of the ASDEFCON Review which should commence midyear. She also advised that the successful scheme of accelerated payments to the defence industry ($23 billion paid early across 337 invoices) will continue for a little longer, but it must eventually end. She is keen to receive advice from the defence industry as to when would be an acceptable time to return to normal payment timelines (I don’t believe ‘never’ is an acceptable answer). Minister Price concluded by introducing two new advisers on her staff in Canberra: Stephen Kuper and Joe McKay. Stephen will take carriage of Innovation, Science and Technology and Joe will be responsible for Australian Industry Capability (AIC) matters. The First Assistant Secretary of the Defence Industry Policy Division, Dr Peter Sawczak, hosted this month’s states and territories teleconference for Defence Advocates and state departments. Key points arising from the meeting were:
Dr Sawczak commenced the meeting by reinforcing Minister Price’s message from last week on the broadening scope of the SADI Grants. The new scope will come into effect by the end of the month: there will be an imminent media release describing the areas covered by the grant. He also addressed the continuing Centre for Defence Industry Capability (CDIC) transformation which is “continuing apace”. The transformation team briefed the Minister of Defence Industry’s office last week to finalise functions and roles of the new CDIC. The next step will be to bed down the processes and baseline functions for future operations. Mr Tony Walsh, Director of the Australia Industry Capability and COVID-19 Industry Support Cell - Capability, Acquisition & Sustainment Group, briefed on the continuing work on the ‘Five Pillars’ of the Government’s plan of building a competitive Australian defence industry. He advised that the next area of concentration will be a review of the mechanisms of Global Supply Chains. Tony also mentioned that there continues to be issues with international freight; these are being addressed as quickly as feasible. Mr Matt Neagle, NSC, stated that they have now completed the first quarterly forums with each state and territory. The NSC found all discussions useful and fruitful; they will now concentrate on more specific approaches for each jurisdiction. He also reminded that the NSC has produced a catalogue of specialist courses to assist personnel transfer from other sectors to shipbuilding careers. The next focus will be on building learning development plans for personnel wishing to up-skill. Peter closed out the teleconference by discussing the format of future meetings. Reflecting the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meetings will now be monthly plus as requested by the attendees, there will be occasional specialist presenters addressing specific pertinent issues. Raydon Gates AO CSM Rear Admiral RAN (Rtd) Happy 100th Birthday to the Royal Australian Air Force!Today marks 100 years of service to Australia by the Royal Australian Air Force. On 31 March 1921 the Australian Government Gazette reported on the formation of the Australian Air Force. Later that year the Governor General authorised the use of “Royal” and the official name became the Royal Australian Air Force. The Avro 504K trainer became the first RAAF aircraft built in Australia and after 3 months of training, 240 officers and airmen were ready to fly. To all the air men and women who have served in the RAAF over the past 100 years, we thank you for your service. $30M grants program to support local manufacturingThe Federal Government is supporting Australia’s manufacturers to turn their good ideas into world-beating realities that create more local jobs, with a new $30 million fund. The Commercialisation Fund will foster projects that bring industry and researchers together to commercialise new manufacturing products and processes. Under the Modern Manufacturing Strategy, this fund will support projects within the Government’s six National Manufacturing Priorities: Medical Products, Food and Beverage, Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing, Recycling and Clean Energy, Defence, and Space. Projects must include collaboration with a research partner and a minimum of one industry partner. The fund will run over an 18-month period. The first round of funding, which opens today, will provide $20 million while a subsequent round will deliver the remaining $10 million. Spinifex Brewery – Grants available for ADF charities and non-profitsSpinifex Brewery is a veteran owned business and has established F88 Lager effectively as a world-first initiative aimed at raising funds to support our returned servicemen and women. 50% of the profits from F88 Premium Lager sold will be set aside and distributed as grants to support various military charities. Expressions of Interest for the latest grant round are now open and successful grant recipients will receive quarterly instalments of grant funding in July, October, January and April. Applicants are required to be:
Closing date for Expressions of Interest is 30 April 2021 so visit the website and apply today. Defence Leadership Programs for 2021The defence industry sector requires strong leaders across all levels and facets of the community to ensure defence projects and capability are delivered on time, to budget and without compromise to quality. The Defence Teaming Centre supports businesses to develop their current and emerging leaders within a defence context through the delivery of leadership courses and provision of scholarships. Defence Industry Leadership Program The Defence Industry Leadership Program now in its eleventh year, is a highly successful professional development program designed to develop the existing and emerging leaders of defence industry. The program is a proven conduit to developing leaders, having produced over 240 defence industry graduates to date. Only a few places remain in the 2021 course. This course is ideally suited to candidates who are looking for a hands-on immersive learning experience that focuses on self-development. Visit the website for further information and to apply for this program Professional Certificate in Defence Industry Leadership (PC-DIL) Designed in conjunction with the University of Adelaide this postgraduate course develops core leadership skills in a defence industry-specific context, covering key areas such as self-leadership, ethics, networks, collaboration, dealing with complexity, and managing change. Successful completion of the program also offers participants credit into the University of Adelaide MBA. This course is ideally suited to candidates who have done some formal training to date and are looking for a new study challenge to grow their leadership skills and build their professional networks. Visit the website for further information and to apply for this program and to find out about the two full scholarships available for an Indigenous applicant and an ADF veteran. Navy RAS-AI engagement surveyThe Robotics, Autonomous Systems and Artificial Intelligence Directorate (RAS-AI) for the Royal Australian Navy has engaged RAND Australia to perform a study to inform the future Navy RAS-AI Campaign Plan. The Defence Science Centre strongly encourages WA participation in this study to demonstrate capability in this sector to Navy. Please contact the Defence Science Centre if interested in participating. Tender for a Regional Maintenance Provider for Regional Maintenance Centre (RMC) WestA Request for Tender (RFT) has been released for an industry partner to perform the role of Regional Maintenance Provider within RMC West (Henderson, Western Australia). RMC West is the second in a network of four Regional Maintenance Centres (RMCs) to be implemented. The RFT is for a Regional Maintenance Provider to be part of the integrated Commonwealth and industry workforce for RMC West in Henderson. The RFT explains the Commonwealth’s requirements for the role of Regional Maintenance Provider which involves providing services focused on:
An industry briefing is planned in Henderson and online via GovTeams. You can find more information on it in the Conditions of Tender in the RFT pack. Following the briefing, industry will have the option to register for a brief virtual individual session to seek clarification on elements of the pack. To register for either or both of these, please email RMPW.RFT@defence.gov.au |