DEFENCE STATEMENT
Today, the Albanese Government has released the 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program.
Together, these documents set out the Government’s plan to respond to our strategic circumstances and keep Australians safe.
In delivering the 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program, the Albanese Government continues its structured approach of identifying the capabilities we need and funding them appropriately.
In recognition of our dangerous and unpredictable strategic circumstances, the 2026 Integrated Investment Program includes an additional $14 billion over the next four years, and an additional $53 billion over the decade, through Defence funding, estate modernisation and alternative financing where appropriate. As a result, Defence spending as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will rise to 3 per cent by 2033 under the NATO approach.
The Albanese Government’s record increase in Defence investment coincides with major reforms, including the establishment of the Defence Delivery Agency and the Government’s response to the Estate Audit, to ensure every dollar of investment is focused on value for money and greater speed to capability.
Not only are these investments acquiring and sustaining the capabilities needed to keep Australians safe, they are also supporting tens of thousands of highly skilled, well-paid Australian jobs directly and across supply chains.
2026 National Defence Strategy
The inaugural National Defence Strategy delivered in 2024 identified that Australia’s strategic environment was deteriorating and that our nation faced the most challenging circumstances since the Second World War.
It set out, for the first time, the concept of National Defence and adopted the Strategy of Denial as the cornerstone of Defence planning.
The 2026 National Defence Strategy builds on these foundations by:
- increasing efforts to develop greater self-reliance;
- prioritising capability acquisition and sustainment plans, drawing on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine and conflicts in the Middle East;
- strengthening the resilience of Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base and building stronger, more diverse international industrial partnerships;
- improving national civil preparedness and resilience to help Australia manage and recover from regional or global disruption; and
- increasing coordination with regional partners to strengthen and preserve the global rules based order.
The 2026 National Defence Strategy puts Australia on a path to strengthen our self reliance; it reinforces the industrial foundations needed for National Defence; and it situates Australia firmly within a network of trusted regional partnerships.
Above all, it ensures Australia remains secure, sovereign and ready — not just for today’s challenges, but into the future.
2026 Integrated Investment Program
The Albanese Government has allocated $425 billion over the decade to deliver accelerated capability for the integrated, focused force – to increase the ADF’s self-reliance and contribute to regional deterrence.
The 2026 Integrated Investment Program prioritises investment to:
- deliver an enhanced undersea warfare capability, supported by a sovereign fleet of conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines;
- accelerate the delivery of more lethal maritime capabilities;
- further expand long-range strike capabilities across the integrated, focused force;
- accelerate the introduction of integrated air and missile defence capabilities;
- expand the adoption of autonomous and uncrewed systems across the land, air and maritime domains;
- field counter-uncrewed air systems to protect Australian sites, events and critical infrastructure; and
- deliver a resilient and secure multi-orbit satellite communications system.
These investments, including the additional $53 billion in new funding over the decade, will also strengthen the resilience of our sovereign defence industrial base, create and sustain Australian jobs, and build stronger, more diverse international industrial partnerships and supply chains.
The 2026 Integrated Investment Program also includes targeted investments to increase preparedness and resilience to ensure the ADF is postured and prepared today to respond to unforeseen events tomorrow.
Throughout all of this, the Albanese Government continues to invest in Defence’s most important capability — its people. Recruitment, retention, training and skilling are central to delivering on the concept of National Defence. The 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program continue the important work of growing and retaining our Defence Force.
As a Defence enterprise, there is no more important or consequential task than defending Australia and protecting the security, interests and livelihoods of every Australian.
The work the ADF and their enabling APS colleagues perform directly supports this mission and we thank them, and their families for their continued commitment and service.
Copies of the 2026 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program are available online at https://www.defence.gov.au/nds.
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Since the publication of the 2024 plan, I note the following environmental shifts: US commitment to formalised alliances and security guarantees have never been weaker; US deployment to Asia has actually been reduced; Low cost, mass drone tactics have been successfully deployed in two theatres; and British defence capability investment appears to be critically underfunded and significantly indeterminate.
Yet AUKUS pillar 1 remains the centrepiece of Australia’s defence capability acquisition.
Fair summary of the situation.
Another statement that fundamentally restates programs that have already been announced. No mention of an east coast submarine base, no increase in RAAF platforms other than a vague mention of self autonomous craft. No increase in naval platforms, the army, aside from an increased missile capability is fundamentally static.
Why on earth are we pursuing a British not yet designed nuclear submarine when the disastrous Hunter class frigate has ballooned into 3-4 billion per unit. To put this into perspective, Australia could purchase a new Ford class nuclear aircraft carrier for the price of 3 or 4 Hunter class frigates. I shudder to think what the new not yet designed British nuclear submarines will cost. Compare this to the South Koreans, a nuclear designed submarine ready to be produced, a 4.5 generation fighter in production, a SP howitzer that seems to be being purchased by every second country on earth and Aegis destroyers that are technically as competitive as anything currently produced.
Australia is being left behind and relying on dubious foreign programs will end in tears. The closest comparison in population and wealth is South Korea, yet we cling to a fading Britain and an isolationist United States. Maybe we should be aligning ourselves to nations that have similar potential risks as we are beginning to have.
All of that is correct. A major surprise for me in the speech by Richard Marles yesterday is that he refuses to accept that the behaviour of the US has changed and that Trump is a threat to hos beloved international rules-based order.
He did just release an NDS with self-reliance as an objective; with a much heavier weighting of sovereign industrial capacity than in the 2024 NDS; that explicitly says incumbent powers are re-evaluating their role in defending the international system; that repeatedly says that the rules based order is “in transition”; and that says that the US “increasingly expects its allies and partners to invest more in their own defence, reduce their reliance on the United States military”.
So I think it’s safe to assume that he accepts that the US has obviously changed.
What he’s not doing is saying it out loud where Trump could hear it.
James, I can assure you that the slavish, unquestioning devotion Richard Marles shows to the US is not a tactic; it’s completely sincere. Trust me on this one.
I must admit to being sceptical of this new NDS being anyway better than the last one. From what I’ve read most, ifnot all of the major points of this NDS were the basis of the last NDS and I’ve not seen a huge amount of progress from that one, with the exception of orders for long distant acquisition. In fact the NDS seems to highlight exactly what the Government is not doing and has no intention of ever doing. If they were serious about regional co operation and quickly acquiring capabilities, they would be talking to every one about what they have to offer, not just the U.S. ( who are flat out supplying themselves )and a token gesture to the U.K. . Every major acquisition project that the ADF is currently pursuing with the U.S. involves absolute sovereignty to the U.S., not one of these projects involves any long term manufacturing ( not the IKEA type ) to Australia, yet each of those acquisitions could have been had, along with Technology Transfers and Australian Factories , quicker, cheaper and with major Australian content from any one of Japan, Sth Korea, India or the EU. In short this NDS is long on promises but short on commitment, just like the last NDS and “ The Greatest Defence Document Of our time “ the Strategic Defence Review .
Yes, it’s vital we diversify sources of supply and even more importantly do as much domestic production as possible. Unfortunately, ramping up industries takes time.