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Just one in five respondents to Defence Connect’s 2023 Australian Defence Industry Report deemed Australia’s defence sector as “easy” to conduct business in.
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Conducted between 1 September and 17 November 2023, Defence Connect’s second annual Australian Defence Industry Report captures insights into the experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of Australia’s defence industry professionals and their work with prime contractors and the Commonwealth.
Topics assessed include invoice settlement, collaboration, communication and project management, global supply chain opportunities, knowledge transfer, and transparency.
The 2023 survey received a usable sample of 801 active defence industry participants.
Defence Connect can now reveal that industry professionals have expressed significant doubt over their organisation’s ability to conduct business in Australia’s defence market, despite pledges from the Commonwealth in the Defence Strategic Review to streamline acquisition processes.
In the survey, participants were asked: “Generally speaking, how easy or difficult is it for your organisation to conduct business in Australia’s defence sector?”
Of the survey respondents, 36 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, described Australia’s defence industry as “difficult” and “extremely difficult” to conduct business.
Only 20 per cent of respondents considered it “easy”, while 3 per cent considered it “extremely easy”.
Fewer than one in five participants thought that the Australian Standard for Defence Contracting (ASDEFCON) had a positive impact on their business’ ability to conduct business in the market, while 31 per cent expressed concern that it had a negative impact on their business.
“The findings of the Australian Defence Industry Report are consistent with what we’re hearing from SMEs right across the country: it is extremely challenging to do business in the defence sector at the moment,” Defence Connect’s senior analyst Stephen Kuper said.
“Worryingly, it seems that initiatives that have been introduced to lighten the burden on defence businesses have actually made it worse.”
Complete findings from Defence Connect’s 2023 Australian Defence Industry Report will be available from 29 January. To learn more about the report, please contact the director of Agile Market Intelligence Michael Johnson on
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