The Australian Government has invested $19 million into the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) Pilot. This is to ensure that Australian businesses have access to more opportunities to secure manufacturing contracts in the United States submarine industrial base.
“AUKUS is delivering real benefits for Australian industry and jobs. This program is helping build a strong, sovereign submarine enterprise that will keep Australia safe for decades to come," Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, stated.
The Government have awarded HII Australia an initial $9.6 million contract to deliver the pilot phase of the AUSSQ program in March 2025, and on 17 October they have announced a further investment of $9.3 million to deliver additional work packages.
“This $19 million investment is helping Australian businesses break into global supply chains and contribute to allied industrial capacity. It’s about creating jobs, growing skills, and giving our manufacturers a chance to compete on the world stage," Conroy said.
The initial phase of the program, delivered by H&B Defence—a HII and Babcock joint venture—focused on prospective Australian businesses in castings and forgings, and precision machining. This second tranche of investment will focus on industry uplift activities involving air and gas flasks, and fabricated parts.
AUSSQ has the aim of helping local companies become approved suppliers to HII, one of two companies that builds US nuclear-powered submarines.
Twenty-two Australian businesses are already taking part, with eight now fully qualified. The eight are: MacTaggart Scott Australia; Levett Engineering; Century Engineering; H E Parts International; Veem; Hofmann Engineering; Dobbie; and MTA.
Further, three of the twenty-two participating Australian businesses have now been invited to quote for work in the US supply chain: Hofmann Engineering; Veem; and Axiom.
AUSSQ has complemented the Defence Industry Vendor Qualification Program (DIVQ), and is part of a broader effort to grow Australia’s defence industrial base.