South Australia will be the home of Australian nuclear-powered submarine construction, helping to deliver the single greatest upgrade for our Defence capability starting this year.
Delivering on the Albanese Government’s commitment, Australia’s next-generation nuclear-powered submarines will be built at Osborne, South Australia.
This historic announcement is a unique opportunity for South Australia, which will deliver jobs and benefit the economy for generations to come.
South Australian industry will see a major capability and capacity uplift as it takes its place at the forefront of one of Australia’s greatest industrial undertakings.
This will see an estimated investment in South Australia of $2 billion over the Forward Estimates.
The Submarine Construction Yard created for the build of our next-generation nuclear-powered submarines will be almost three times larger than the yard forecast for the Attack class program.
The work in South Australia begins right away – we are already investing in the workforce required and putting in place the infrastructure to support the build.
At its peak, up to 4,000 workers will be employed to design and build the infrastructure for the Submarine Construction Yard in Osborne, South Australia.
A further 4,000 to 5,500 direct shipyard jobs are expected to be created to build nuclear-powered submarines in South Australia when the program reaches its peak – almost double the workforce forecast by the former Government for the Attack class program. This does not include the additional jobs created in the supply chain for the construction or sustainment of submarines.
The Albanese Government will continue to work with the South Australian Government through the Commonwealth South Australian Defence Industry Workforce and Skills Taskforce to deliver this multi-generational opportunity for South Australia.
Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Richard Marles MP said:
“South Australia has a critical contribution to Australia’s next-generation nuclear-powered submarine program by ensuring there is a world-class facility to build and deliver this transformational capability for our nation.
“There will be thousands of jobs in South Australia to support the build of the submarine construction yard and of our Australian nuclear-powered submarine.”
Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon. Pat Conroy MP said:
“This is the greatest industrial undertaking ever for Australia. It will be transformative for South Australian industry.
“There will be thousands of direct jobs in constructing the shipyard and building the submarines, but also significant opportunities in the supply chains, not only of Australia, but of the United States and United Kingdom.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong said:
“This is an unprecedented investment in our national power and a historic investment in South Australia.
“Labor has always stood up for South Australian shipbuilding and now we’re delivering. With work beginning immediately, our workforce, industry and economy will all benefit from the AUKUS partnership, now and into the future.”
SA Premier, Peter Malinauskas MP said:
“The significance of this moment cannot be overstated.
“The AUKUS submarines will be the most complex machines that have ever been built in human history. And they will be built here in South Australia.
“But it is not just the thousands of workers to be employed at Osborne who will benefit.
“This is a transformational opportunity to increase our economic complexity.
“That means more highly skilled, highly paid jobs across our economy that will help lift the standard of living for generations of South Australians.
“We now have a massive task ahead of us to prepare the highly skilled workforce to capitalise on this historic opportunity.”