Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

Upgraded facilities at ASC in Henderson, Western Australia will increase the efficiency of the maintenance and sustainment of Australia’s submarine fleet, increasing the number of days that submarines are available for use by the Royal Australian Navy.

The $13 million upgrade enables the co-location of essential facilities, which will deliver a significant increase in the efficiency of submarine maintenance activities. A similar upgrade at ASC’s South Australian facilities led to a 30 per cent improvement in submarine maintenance efficiency.

This investment in submarine availability will also benefit to hundreds of Australian suppliers as well as a network of more than 50 Australian organisations providing expert advice to ASC.

ASC currently employs 400 highly skilled and experienced submarine platform personnel in Western Australia.

Western Australia plays a significant role in Australia’s defence industry. This commitment to maintaining Australia’s Collins Class submarine capability comes on top of the Government’s announcement in February of a $100 million investment in naval related industrial infrastructure and sustainment in WA from 2017 to 2020.