The federal government must spend less and spend better to balance the budget. A key target is defence spending, which has grown rapidly to some $60 billion per annum today. This paper shows that, with prompt government action, spending less and better could meet defence needs while saving up to $160bn and years of delay.

The strategy establishes the strategic policy settings for Defence’s engagement with Australia’s defence industry. These settings reflect the changing strategic circumstances and deliver the initiatives required to develop Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base in support of its national security requirements. The strategy sets three outcomes for Defence and industry to achieve.

The compendium brings together articles published over the past 12 months, examining the most significant strategic, operational, technological and economic challenges facing Australia at a consequential moment in its history. The volume reflects the breadth of the challenges confronting Australia across five thematic parts: strategy and deterrence, regional security, Taiwan, capabilities and defence spending.

This paper proposes that the cost of AUKUS is unknown. From the available estimates, it appears that the cost will average in the low tens of billions each year. The paper concludes that the AUKUS submarine deal has not been justified; it is for the Government to explain how it will be paid for.

Australia’s 2026–27 Defence Budget commits the Commonwealth to spending approximately $181.9 million on defence every day. This report examines the Australian Government’s progress with, and spending on, the 2026 National Defence Strategy and the updated Integrated Investment Program. The series has, year after year, assessed what governments said they would do against what the books...