Canberra plans new defence precinct for Western Australia

An illustration of the planned Commonwealth Defence Precinct at Henderson shipyard in Western Australia. (Commonwealth of Australia)

Australia's Department of Defence (DoD) has announced plans to establish a Commonwealth Defence Precinct at Henderson shipyard in Western Australia. The new facility will support Australia's operation of nuclear-powered AUKUS submarines as well as new vessels Canberra plans to build for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

The plans – funded by government investment of AUD127 million (USD85 million) over three years – are framed by a co-operation agreement signed by the Australian federal government and the state government of Western Australia on 16 October.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said, “The defence precinct at Henderson will optimise Australia's shipbuilding and sustainment industry while supporting continuous naval shipbuilding in Western Australia and Australia's nuclear-powered submarine pathway.”

According to the DoD, the new precinct, which is expected to become operational over the next few years, will support the construction of 18 new Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel–Medium (LMV-M) craft for the Australian Army and 11 general purpose frigates planned for the Royal Australian Navy.

The DoD said the precinct will also “be the home of depot-level maintenance and contingency docking” for Australia's AUKUS submarines, which Canberra is procuring through a partnership with the UK and US.

The precinct is expected to co-ordinate on AUKUS submarine support activities with the Submarine Rotational Force (SRF)-West that will be developed at HMAS Stirling – located on a peninsula facing the Henderson precinct – from 2027. The Australian government has already committed to invest AUD8 billion to support the development of SRF-West.

The DoD said the new co-operation agreement provides a foundation for collaboration on the Commonwealth Defence Precinct project.