Defence estate audit recommends divestments
Article courtesy of the Department of Defence
In response to the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, the Government commissioned an independent audit of the Defence estate to assess whether its footprint was fit for purpose.
The audit considered a range of matters to ensure the Defence estate is best positioned to support operational and capability requirements. It was conducted by 2 independent co-leads, Jan Mason and Jim Miller, who visited more than 70 Defence locations and engaged with stakeholders across government, Defence and industry.
They assessed whether the estate is fit for purpose and provides the ADF with the facilities and capabilities it needs to keep Australians safe. The auditors focused on strengthening the resilience of the Defence estate, mechanisms to accelerate delivery of major infrastructure, and options for consolidation of under-utilised facilities.
The Audit’s 20 recommendations aim to transition the estate toward a more modern, future-focused and fit-for-purpose capability that best enables the ADF in its tasks. They are aimed at re-orienting the Defence estate to meet current and future capability needs, identifying that:
- the Defence estate is too large and is on an unsustainable trajectory
- parts of the estate are unsafe, unused or unserviceable
- there are too many facilities in the southern parts of the country
- strategic transformation is required to ensure the estate remains fit for purpose and capability aligned.
The report’s first recommendation calls for Defence to ‘reduce its property holdings through focused divestment of sites at market value in areas not aligned with current or future capability priorities’.
The audit identified a total of 68 sites for divestment. On the basis of subsequent Defence capability analysis one site, Pittwater Annex, will be retained and 3 will be partially divested: HMAS Penguin, RAAF Williams – Laverton, and Warradale Barracks. Three of these identified sites have already been divested, while 6 other properties are currently undergoing divestment actions.
The Government’s response
The Government has agreed or agreed-in-principle to all 20 of the Audit’s recommendations, which involves making decisions to transition to a modern Defence estate that reflects the needs of the nation and our Defence personnel.
The Government has accepted the Audit’s recommendations for a focused program of consolidation and divestment across multiple sites aimed at rationalising and reorientating the estate towards contemporary and future security challenges.
Some of the sites are historically significant and have important meaning to current and former Defence personnel. The Government acknowledges the deep connection that Defence people and families have with the establishments on which they live, work and train. It is committed to preserving and enhancing public access to historically significant sites and collections so that all Australians can celebrate our proud military history.
The Government has acknowledged that many of the Defence sites are also accessed by community organisations, including veterans’ organisations. For these organisations and their members, particularly veterans, these sites hold significant meaning.
As part of the divestment process, Defence will engage with community organisations which access these sites, including existing tenants, to work through their individual circumstances and future needs. This will be done sensitively and on a site by site basis.
Other recommendations of the audit relate to aligning facilities to capability priorities, including accelerating the transition to an integrated, focused force. It recommends driving greater consolidation and shared use of facilities, embedding consideration of alternative finance and delivery models, and provisioning for whole-of-life cycle costs in project budgets.
This undertaking is the most significant reform to the Defence estate ever – providing personnel with the facilities and capabilities they need to keep Australians safe. All proceeds from divestments under this process will be retained within the Defence portfolio and be reinvested in National Defence Strategy priorities, including continuing to upgrade and strengthen our northern bases.
The Department of Finance is leading the process due to its experience in managing large-scale divestment programs, expertise in divestment and remediation, and oversight of the Commonwealth Property Disposal Policy as well as other land policy and legislation.
Community engagements will commence in April in Tasmania. To access the report and all related information about the Delivering the Future Estate, visit the Defence website. If you have further enquiries, please email delivering.the.future.estate@defence.gov.au.