On 28 August 2025, the Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement (SSA) was executed by Defence and Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia Pty Ltd (Austal Defence Australia). As a sovereign subsidiary under Austal, this agreement establishes Austal Defence Australia as the Strategic Shipbuilder for Henderson, WA.
The SSA streamlines the contracting process by using pre-agreed terms and conditions to accelerate building and delivery of shipbuilding projects at Henderson.
The SSA will:
- Help to secure a continuous pipeline of shipbuilding work for local and regional industry in WA, thereby avoiding the boom bust cycle of shipbuilding.
- Enable the establishment of a best practice shipbuilding industry to deliver on the objectives of the 2024 National Defence Strategy.
- Provide a long-term demand signal to industry, enabling coordination and prioritisation of the workforce and facilities across projects.
- Incentivise industry investment in the workforce, supply chain and infrastructure development required to support the future Commonwealth Henderson Defence Precinct.
Strategic Shipbuilder
In November 2023, the Australian Government announced a strategic partnership between Defence and Austal. At this time, a Heads of Agreement was signed with Austal to establish a Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement to achieve industry consolidation at Henderson, WA.
The Strategic Shipbuilder is a strategic asset, and key to supporting continuous naval shipbuilding in WA. Austal Defence Australia will focus exclusively on delivering Defence shipbuilding projects in WA, optimising capability delivery for the Australian Defence Force in support of Australia’s continued national security and prosperity.
The Strategic Shipbuilder will work closely with the local industrial base and supply chain to develop the skills and resources required to deliver increasingly complex shipbuilding projects in Henderson.
Pilot program
The pilot program will be used to test and refine the Strategic Shipbuilding model. It will enable Austal Defence Australia and the supply chain to incrementally mature and evolve as they develop their capability and capacity required to be considered for the build of larger and more complex vessels.
The pilot program includes 2 projects:
- Landing Craft Medium
- Landing Craft Heavy, subject to government approval and commercial negotiations.
These 2 projects are expected to create 1,100 direct jobs and more than 2,000 indirect jobs.