Australia’s Defence Estate Strategy is undergoing a fundamental shift, from infrastructure sustainment to becoming a critical enabler of combat readiness. This transformation reflects a broader strategic reality: the Defence estate must now support force posture, generation, and preparedness in an increasingly contested and complex environment.
This evolution presents a clear challenge for estate and infrastructure leaders: how to accelerate delivery, manage to budget, and ensure operational readiness across geographically dispersed and often austere locations. To meet this challenge, strategic guidance now has a focus on:
- Faster delivery of infrastructure and services.
- Tighter budget controls and value-for-money outcomes.
- Agile governance and policy frameworks.
- Navigating workforce and supply chain constraints in a pressured construction market.
In this context, the Defence estate is no longer a passive asset, it’s a strategic platform that must be digitally enabled, sovereign-ready, and resilient by design.
A Strategic Asset in Action: The Australian Marine Complex and Common User Facility
A compelling example of this shift in action is the Australian Marine Complex – Common User Facility (AMC CUF) in Western Australia. Located just south of Perth, the AMC CUF is one of only two naval shipbuilding hubs in the country and plays a vital role in supporting the continuous build and sustainment of submarines and surface vessels. It also supports large-scale projects for a wide range of industry segments, making it a critical node in both Defence and industrial capability.
Ventia has held the operations and management contract for the AMC CUF since mid-2022, delivering 24/7 facility management, asset operations, and business development services to various industry sectors for the WA State Government. The facility’s strategic importance lies not only in its infrastructure, including deep-water ports, laydown areas, and fabrication halls, but in its ability to support multi-user, multi-industry collaboration at scale. It exemplifies how infrastructure can be leveraged to support sovereign capability, economic growth, and national security objectives simultaneously.
Advanced Infrastructure for Sensitive Operations
Ventia’s work on the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) further demonstrates its ability to deliver complex infrastructure in remote, high-security environments. As the prime contractor for the SKA-Low project in Western Australia, Ventia is responsible for the design, construction, commissioning, and maintenance of ICT structures and power infrastructure.
This includes the Central Processing Facility, a specialised, EMF-shielded data centre designed for advanced signal processing, timing, and system control. The facility is powered by a hybrid renewable energy system, combining solar arrays, battery storage, and diesel backup to ensure continuous, resilient operations in a radio-quiet zone.
Ventia also delivered 19 modular Edge Data Centres, each housed in RFI-shielded containers that enable distributed data processing across vast distances. These structures incorporate world-first 0 MHz shielding capability, designed to eliminate internal electronic interference, a breakthrough that is highly transferable to Defence applications, particularly in secure communications and remote operations.
The Solution: Integrated Capability for a New Era
Meeting the demands of a future-ready Defence estate requires more than traditional project delivery. It calls for integrated solutions that combine physical infrastructure with secure digital systems, delivered by partners who understand the operational tempo and strategic priorities of Defence.
A large-scale, security-cleared technical workforce is essential to mobilise quickly and deliver at speed. Sovereign capability ensures alignment with national objectives and reduces risk. Digital infrastructure, from secure ICT networks to smart base technologies, acts as a force multiplier, enabling real-time decision-making and cyber resilience.
The Defence estate of the future must be fit-for-conflict. That means infrastructure that is modular, scalable, and digitally connected. It must be cost-efficient, rapidly deployable, and supported by local supply chains and workforce capability.
As Defence redefines its estate strategy, the need for trusted, strategic partners is more critical than ever. The goal is not just to build and maintain, but to integrate, secure, and enable infrastructure that supports national readiness.
Find out more, visit Ventia at IndoPac 2025.