On 19 October 2023, The Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Assistant Minister For Defence spoke at the ADIESA Member and VIP Drinks at the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra. The full transcript of his speech can be downloaded from the Members Submissions and Reports page on the website.
On Wednesday 4 October Noel Borgas (vice-chair) attended a workshop for the Defence Trade Controls (DTC) Act 2012 Review, in Adelaide, as an ADIESA representative. (Terms of reference for the review are available on the website at the link)
Written submissions can be made by emailing dtc.actreview@defence.gov.au and are due 29th of October 2023. Member companies are encouraged to contribute if interested.
For more information about the workshop from Noel, login to the Members Updates page on our website.
Australian Defence Information and Electronic Systems Association (ADIESA)
Media Release - Defence Strategic Review
The Australian Defence Information and Electronic Systems Association (ADIESA) congratulates the Government, the Department of Defence and the authors of the Defence Strategic Review (the Review) for the evident thoroughness in formulating the arguments from which the recommendations of the Review flow. The Review makes plain points of vital interest to ADIESA and its Defence Industry members:
The critical role of data and state-of-the-art information systems in National Defence. The Review acknowledges information and communications technology (ICT) is critical to Defence and modern warfighting capability as it underpins preparedness and is critical to reliance measures. Force Design must focus on crucial future-focused joint capabilities such as information warfare, cyber capabilities, electronic warfare, and guided weapons. And the resulting design and investment priorities necessary across all five Domains to realise the strategy of denial in Australia’s northern approaches which depend upon the full extent of information and electronic systems; including: ISR, targeting, integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) command and control, space communications, C4 architectures, and Cyber. ADIESA supports initiatives such as Defence adopting an open architecture approach in both hardware and software to reduce integration complexity and costs, and break down barriers for Australian industry participation.
The vital importance of Defence Industry to a whole-of-government approach to National Defence. Industry was elevated to the status of a Fundamental Input to Capability (FIC) in the 2016 Defence White paper. Defence Industry strengthens resilience and affords a measure of self-reliance that is vital to Australia’s security, given our geography and the vulnerabilities associated with being an island nation. ADIESA welcomes the introduction of the biennial National Defence Strategy which will provide clarity of process and approach to Defence and defence industry. We acknowledge the strategic risk driven, pragmatic approach to Australian industry content and domestic production which must be balanced against timely capability acquisition. ADIESA is positioned to support lifting the capacity to rapidly translate disruptive new technologies into ADF capability, in close partnership with Australian industry.
Streamlining the capability acquisition cycle. Increasing acquisition tempo will result in requirements being more current when the capability is introduced and cost efficiencies. Reducing the complexity of the process will further reduce costs, remove artificial barriers, and increase the likelihood of timely introduction of essential capability to the warfighters. ADIESA supports the need for Defence acquisitions to be streamlined, with risk-based and accountable decision-making. We agree that to enable Australian defence industry to deliver capability, the acquisition processes must minimise the burden of working with Defence, particularly for small and medium enterprises, thus achieving faster capability delivery while building depth in Australian defence industry where required. The new Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator must enable the research and Defence Industry sectors to focus on the development of advanced and asymmetric capabilities in key technological areas.
ADIESA is committed to working with Defence to facilitate early engagement with industry on capability development and improvement. The ADIESA objective is to support acquisitions and incremental improvements being fit for purpose, and delivered on time and on budget.
Correspondingly, ADIESA encourages Defence to engage with Defence Industry and industry associations earlier, to ensure that capability decisions are well-informed. This will enable critical Defence Industry input to force design and the delivered capability, for a fully integrated and more capable ADF with the technology and asymmetric advantage, force posture and accelerated preparedness necessary for the National Defence Strategy and the defence of Australia.
Media Contact
Mr Mike Wagstaff, Chair, ADIESA
Email: chair@adiesa.org.au
Phone: 0408 382 129
Download PDF
Annual ‘self-assessment’ undertaken by your Board (Jan 23)
The Board self-assessment is based on the Not-for-profit Governance Principles developed by the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) as an element of their support for not for-profits and their boards to achieve good governance.
These Principles seek to go beyond what may be considered a minimum standard of governance and aim to encourage organisations to strive for and achieve good governance. The Principles are not intended to be prescriptive, but to act as a guide and are complementary to, and building on, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Governance Standards. Thus, in accordance with the AICD encouragement for NFPs to consider assessing governance practices against these principles and reporting on this to members and stakeholders, the results of the 2023 ADIESA Board self-assessment are provided for ADIESA members.
The results of this self-assessment were considered in the Board’s annual strategic planning activity at the end of Jan 23. ADIESA members are welcome to review and comment.
Survey of ADIESA members (Feb 23)
The Feb 23 ADIESA members survey seeks feedback/assessment on the Board’s performance in delivering the ADIESA mission (on behalf of the members) and seeks comment on preparation for the DSR release.
The results of this members survey are under consideration by the Board and for action out of the Apr 23 Board Meeting. ADIESA members are welcome to review and comment further.
The Command and Control Focus Groups (C2-FG) with Director Land C4 engaged with Defence Industry through the ADIESA membership on 07 Mar 23 at the Majura Theatre, Canberra. The link to consolidated notes from the ADIESA Board participants present at the LC4 focus group is provided below. These notes were shared with the LC4 team (AHQ and CASG) and discussed in a follow up meeting on 23 Mar 23. The Commonwealth intend to undertake the next LC4 focus group activity in late Apr/early May (date TBC). In the meantime, we will soon release a brief questionnaire seeking comment on the LC4 draft Industry Engagement Strategy.
The LC4 focus group 07 Mar 23 consolidated notes from the ADIESA Board participants are available in the member's section.
DTC will be hosting a BD After 5 event in Canberra on 23rd March.
DTC would like to extend an invitation to ADIESA members at the discounted price of $55.
When: Thursday 23 March 2023 Time: 5.00pm – 7:00pm AEDT Where: ADCG, Level 1, 33 Allara Street, Canberra ACT
When: Thursday 23 March 2023
Time: 5.00pm – 7:00pm AEDT
Where: ADCG, Level 1, 33 Allara Street, Canberra ACT
Members can view the ADIESA Submission to Defence Strategic Review in the Member's section.
At the 2022 ADIESA Annual General Meeting, three elected board members will be stepping down and an election will be held to fill these vacant positions. This is an opportunity for Members to nominate a Representative onto the ADIESA Board, which is a great chance for organisations and individuals to make a significant contribution to the ADIESA mission and enhance collaboration between Defence and industry. The ADIESA Directors are critical to building impartial relationships with key Defence stakeholders on behalf of our members in order to enhance collaboration between Defence and industry.
Board nomination forms can be downloaded from here.
Role and Responsibilities
It is important to note that ADIESA is not a lobbying organisation and does not seek to represent any particular view to Defence or Government. Its primary mission is to encourage collaboration between Defence and industry to achieve improved Capability outcomes for the ADF.
The current board wishes to highlight that it values diversity among board members – for example diversity among member organisations, and of gender and age of individual nominees. Please take this into consideration in your deliberations regarding nominees and ultimately the voting process.
Requirements
How to Apply
Members who wish to nominate a person to be a Director or to self-nominate must complete and return a nomination form (attached) to the Secretary Mike Johnson secretary@adiesa.org (also cc admin@adiesa.org.au) by 5pm Thursday 17th November.
If you have any question about the Board and its functions, please feel free to contact Mike Wagstaff (Chair) on 0408 382 129 or Noel Borgas (Deputy Chair) on 0419 264 530.
Inquiries
E: admin@adiesa.org.au T: 0416 117 291
Thank you to all who attended the ADIESA Members Drinks on August 30. It was great to (finally!) catch up with everyone again, and hear from keynote speaker Jeff Goedecke ahead of the inaugural CIOG Industry Forum. We hope you enjoyed the evening!
The ADIESA Industry Engagement Day was held on 28 April 2022 with Defence Information Warfare Branch.
This event sought to promote collaborative, frank and transparent dialogue between Defence and Industry. The Industry Engagement Day was a members-only event. ADIESA members and Defence personnel were invited to attend.
ADIESA gives special thanks to our speakers:
MAJGEN Susan Coyle AM, CSC, DSM, MAJGEN Murray Thompson AM, CSC MAJGEN Anthony Rawlins DSC, AM, AVM Cath Roberts AO, CSC, BRIG Doc Watson, AIRCDRE Jason Begley CSC, AIRCDRE Nick Hogan CSC, Gavin Rawlins, Peter Alexander and Nelson Bates.
Australian Defence Information and Electronic Systems Association
PO Box 4892 Kingston ACT 2604
