Executive Summary

This Defence White Paper explains how the Government is investing in Australia’s defence capabilities to strengthen Australia’s security in the more complex strategic environment Australia will face in the years ahead.

The Government’s policy is to align Australia’s defence strategy with capabilities and resourcing, grow our international defence partnerships to support shared security interests and invest in the partnership with Australian defence industry to develop innovative technologies and deliver essential capabilities.

Because decisions about our defence capabilities taken now will determine our capacity to manage the challenges of the future, it is important that defence decision making and planning take a clear long-term view. This Defence
White Paper looks out to 2035 to identify where and what sorts of security challenges are likely to arise and what capabilities Defence – the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the Department of Defence – will need to meet them. While Australia has effective defence capabilities to draw on to meet current security challenges, significant under-investment in Defence in the past and the deferral of decisions about future major capabilities need to be fixed. Defence’s capability plans have become disconnected from defence strategy and resources, delaying important investments in Australia’s future security and frustrating Australian defence industry.

In April 2014, the Government announced that it would deliver a new Defence White Paper to align Defence’s strategy, capability and resources.

This Defence White Paper is based on a comprehensive review of Australia’s strategic environment, including the changes underway in the Indo-Pacific region, encompassing the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and across the world and the implications of these changes for Australia and for Defence. This includes an assessment of the different challenges created by the complex dynamics between states and the ongoing threat posed by non-state actors, including terrorists that seek to launch attacks internationally, regionally and within Australia.

A fully-costed Force Structure Review underpins the Defence White Paper. The Force Structure Review assessed Defence’s future capability needs and developed the force structure required to achieve Australia’s defence objectives .

An Expert Panel supported the development of the Defence White Paper together with a comprehensive consultation process which incorporated input from across Government, Australian defence industry, the Australian public, the United States, New Zealand and our other international partners.

The Defence White Paper sets out in three sections the elements of the Government’s defence policy in response to this comprehensive analysis and consideration: Strategy, Capability, and Resources.