The Australian government announced the development and extension of two significant programmes to help local industry tap into the supply chains of AUKUS partners. The programmes include:
- The Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification programme (AUSSQ) has been expanded, linking businesses in Australia to the United Kingdom’s submarine supply chains for the first time as well as building on the success of the pilot in growing access to supply chains in the United States.
- ASC and BAE Systems have launched a new supply chain qualification programme, giving Australian industry the opportunity to contribute to the SSN-AUKUS build program across both Australia and the UK.
Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification Programme
Less than a year after the launch of Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification Program (AUSSQ), the government is investing an additional $21 million to significantly expand this program. About $6.9 million will go towards supporting Australian suppliers to provide priority sustainment services to the UK submarines participating in the Submarine Rotational Force – West activities at HMAS Stirling, in Western Australia. This work will validate and qualify Australian businesses against 20 service types identified by Babcock International Group as being in high demand across the Astute class submarine supply chain, and give local industry a direct link to UK sustainment requirements.
A further $14 million is also being invested to expand the existing AUSSQ program which is qualifying Australian companies to join the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding supply chain in the US. This next tranche will see businesses with expertise in composites, glass-reinforced plastics, furniture and joinery, able to compete for opportunities in US nuclear-powered submarine and aircraft carrier supply chains.
The announcement builds on the success of the programme, which to date has seen 13 companies achieve supplier qualifications and takes the government’s total investment in AUSSQ to nearly $40 million dollars. AUSSQ is delivered by HII Australia through H&B Defence, a joint venture between HII and Babcock.
ASC-BAE Systems Supply Chain Qualification Programme
A new supply chain qualification programme, led by Australia’s Sovereign Submarine Partners ASC and BAE Systems, will give Australian industry the opportunity to contribute expertise and capabilities to the supply chains for both the Australian and UK nuclear-powered submarines (SSN-AUKUS) build programs. To support this ASC and BAE will initially seek expressions of interest from Australian suppliers able to produce a range of metal fabrications, from small to large structural fabrications. This opportunity will be open to current defence suppliers and companies seeking to enter the defence industry supply chain.
Australia’s SSN-AUKUS will be a trilaterally-developed submarine based on the UK’s next generation design that incorporates technology from all three nations, including cutting edge US submarine technologies. With construction on Australia’s first SSN‑AUKUS submarine in Osborne by the end of this decade on track, around 5,500 jobs will be created to support this in South Australia. Expressions of interest for this program are now open via the SSN-AUKUS Build Program Industry Capability Network Portal.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said: “AUKUS is one of the greatest industrial endeavours in our nation’s history – supporting advanced manufacturing, creating high-value jobs, and strengthening Australia’s security and the Albanese Government is committed to seeing Australian businesses at its forefront. Expanding the AUSSQ program to support the sustainment of the United Kingdom’s Astute class submarines is another important step in strengthening the industrial partnerships at the heart of AUKUS. I also welcome the qualification program from our Sovereign Submarine Partners which adds yet another pathway for industry right across the nation to enter the supply chains of not just Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program, but of our AUKUS partners as well. Together, these programs will make an enormous contribution to Australian businesses and jobs in support of our national defence.”
Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said: “The AUSSQ program is already demonstrating the quality contribution that Australian companies can make to AUKUS supply chains, supporting export opportunities and Australian jobs. Australian industry support to US and UK maintenance activities not only helps keep their submarines at sea, it also strengthens Australia’s industrial capability to support Australia’s future fleet of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines.”
Babcock Australasia Acting CEO Leah Grantham said: “The recent maintenance period on HMS Anson at HMAS Stirling shows how the skills and partnerships we are building now directly support the work that will ramp up at SRF‑West in coming years. The upskilling of Australian companies to UK supply chain standards ensures they are ready to support Royal Navy Astute‑class submarines in Australia, while also enabling them to compete for work directly within the UK submarine supply chain. It demonstrates our commitment to creating real, two‑way industrial opportunities under AUKUS.”
HII President Global Security and H&B Defence Board Chair Michael Lempke said: “AUSSQ is a practical demonstration of how AUKUS is being delivered by Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States as a single, integrated enterprise. By aligning standards and qualifying Australian industry to operate seamlessly across Australian, UK and US submarine programs, we are sharing the industrial burden in a way that strengthens all three nations. From HII’s perspective, this approach expands trusted capacity, reduces duplication, and creates a more resilient submarine sustainment ecosystem. It also means Australian suppliers are positioned to contribute meaningfully across Virginia-class, Astute-class and SSN-AUKUS activity over the long term.”
H&B Defence Managing Director Tim Brown said: “As a joint venture between HII and Babcock, H&B Defence was established to deliver the full range of sovereign capabilities required for Australia’s nuclear‑powered submarine program — from workforce and infrastructure to defueling, decommissioning, waste management and long‑term sustainment — ensuring readiness for both Virginia‑class submarines and SSN‑AUKUS. Our rapid integration of the three AUKUS nations’ submarine industrial bases through AUSSQ demonstrates that mission in practice. This new tranche broadens the program’s technical scope and creates additional pathways for Australian suppliers to compete for long-term, high‑value work in one of the world’s most advanced defence supply chains.”
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