Department of Defence
Department of Defence
Defence portfolio
Verified figures
- Contracts (all years): 175,781
- Contract value (all years): 282,553,059,838 AUD
- Contract value (2026): 18,988,060,524 AUD
- APS headcount: 20,710
- Budget 2026-27: 70,936,017 thousand AUD
- Highest total remuneration: 1,166,705 AUD
- Directory roles: 332
Figures use publishable matches only (alias, abn, exact, case, punct, trading_name, wide_exact). Retrieved 2026-09-01.
Coverage — named in the headline (40)
- 2026-08-25 — Defence oversight and wellbeing outcomes focus for new advisory group
- 2026-08-24 — Defence issues official call-up for new Cyber Reserve Force
- 2026-08-09 — Monday Briefing: Australia’s National Defence Strategy
- 2026-08-06 — It’s not rocket science, until it is. Defence research gong goes to local missile man
- 2026-08-03 — Defence rejects cover-up claims on Taipan chopper crash
- 2026-07-23 — The reform Defence actually needs
- 2026-07-20 — Defence prepares market for new comms satellite
- 2026-07-20 — Defence contracting stalwart HiTech buys stricken public sector recruiter Hudson
- 2026-07-13 — Defence secretary selection no captain’s pick, documents reveal
- 2026-06-04 — Defence: Auditor-General brings out the big guns
- 2026-06-01 — Defence investigations lack coherence and effect: ANAO
- 2026-04-28 — Meghan Quinn to take over Defence
- 2026-04-27 — Defence to get $750 million worth of new Bushmasters
- 2026-04-21 — ‘I have a bad feeling about this’: Conroy invokes Star Wars meme to spell-out Defence’s $7 billion drone tech pivot
- 2026-04-19 — Monday Briefing: Defence’s 2026 Integrated Investment Program
- 2026-04-13 — Defence fires first home-built GMLRS as sovereign missile push gathers pace
- 2026-04-06 — Redback audit exposes familiar failures and keeping Defence ministers in the dark
- 2026-03-08 — Defence lawyers-up for International Women’s Day
- 2026-03-04 — Defence spending pumps Australian GDP
- 2026-03-01 — Defence’s top two jobs await successors
- 2026-02-25 — Defence takes plunge into the shallows with $4bn littoral deal
- 2026-02-19 — Defence sets lithium batteries ablaze to fast-charge sovereign cell development
- 2026-02-04 — Defence’s big property shift is much more cut-and-run than bonanza
- 2026-02-02 — Rethinking Defence procurement as part of changing strategic postures
- 2026-01-29 — Defence spruiks potent new domestic drone-kill powers
- 2026-01-20 — Defence inches closer to new $6 billion health deal
- 2025-12-22 — Cath Patterson to oversee more ‘efficient, effective’ Defence outcomes
- 2025-12-18 — Defence major projects a now median two years late
- 2025-12-07 — Defence agency faces uphill battle against entrenched procurement culture
- 2025-12-07 — Defence opens new local Lockheed HIMARS missile factory ahead of Hegseth talks
- 2025-12-04 — APS juggles cuts, Defence chaos as parliament winds down
- 2025-12-02 — Greg Moriarty: Defence secretary
- 2025-12-01 — Defence procurement crackdown rolls three delivery arms into one
- 2025-11-23 — Defence makes Top Secret vetting standardisation official
- 2025-11-19 — ASIO chief issues repeat warning to Defence staff over clearance bragging
- 2025-11-17 — Commonwealth public servant charged with defrauding Defence
- 2025-11-04 — Victoria inks MOU to shore up Defence supply chain
- 2025-11-03 — Virtual care in the field: Scaling telemedicine for Defence health operations
- 2025-10-08 — Defence scientists nail world-first nanosatellite selfie
- 2025-10-07 — Built for Defence: Delivering contracted health services with precision and pride
Passing mentions (10 shown)
Mentioned in the text but not the headline, so often not about this agency.
- 2026-08-27 — Movers & Shakers: Changes at the top across the nation
- 2026-08-27 — Queensland launches defence investment counterstrike against southern states
- 2026-08-23 — Services Australia’s IT chief snatched by Reserve Bank of Australia
- 2026-08-20 — Movers & Shakers: Victoria reveals royal commissioner
- 2026-08-19 — Shooting stuff while skiing? ADF has your telemark
- 2026-08-16 — The history of Australian infrastructure: Foundation (1901-1937)
- 2026-08-16 — ADF members offered pay rise of just 3% in federal wage tussle
- 2026-08-14 — Better Policy Program
- 2026-08-11 — Thirsty and less miserable? Pitch Black air-to-air refuelling still wants more
- 2026-08-06 — Study raises alarm about government’s ‘structural reliance on external consultants’
Names over time
What each source called this agency, and in which years. Taken from the sources themselves, not from a register of establishment dates — those are not published.
| Reported as | Source | Years | Rows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Defence | AusTender (names as at today, not as at the contract) | 2008-09 to 2026-27 | 175,781 |
| Defence ⚠️ | APSC APS Employment Data | 2010-11 to 2025-26 | 3,673 |
| Defence ⚠️ | APSC agency metrics | 2010-11 to 2025-26 | 246 |
| Department of Defence | Annual report KMP disclosure | 2018-19 to 2024-25 | 338 |
| Department of Defence | Annual report governance tables | 2018-19 to 2024-25 | 111 |
| Department of Defence | Annual report expenditure | 2020-21 to 2024-25 | 38 |
| Department of Defence | Portfolio Budget Statements | 2024-25 to 2029-30 | 505 |
⚠️ This agency has not always carried its current name. Figures in the earlier years were reported as Defence (2010-11 to 2025-26). They are shown here because the series is continuous, not because the agency is.
Payments to organisations — as reported by the agency
| Category | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Non-consultancy contracts | 25 | $8,241,529,265 |
| Consultancy | 13 | $12,919,872 |
Largest recipients across all reported years
| Organisation | ABN | Reported total | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thales (+1 other name(s) on this ABN) | 66008642751 | $2,136,075,687 | 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 |
| BAE Systems (+1 other name(s) on this ABN) | 29008423005 | $1,761,748,149 | 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 |
| Boeing (+1 other name(s) on this ABN) | 64006678119 | $1,634,276,868 | 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 |
| Ventia | 51603146676 | $1,435,151,355 | 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 |
| Raytheon | 35063709295 | $1,270,254,859 | 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers | — | $8,831,946 | 2020-21 |
| Ernst & Young | 75288172749 | $3,982,258 | 2020-21, 2023-24 |
| ASC Pty Ltd | 68008605034 | $1,318,242 | 2023-24 |
| Ventia Australia Pty Ltd | 11093114553 | $1,017,367 | 2023-24 |
| Bupa | 50003098655 | $859,470 | 2024-25 |
| ASC Shipbuilding Pty Ltd | 15051899864 | $837,402 | 2024-25 |
| Jacobs Group | 37001024095 | $26,442 | 2024-25 |
From the expenditure disclosures in each annual report — a separate source from the AusTender contract figures above, and not directly comparable with them.
Workforce profile — as at 2025-12-31
| Measure | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| % CALD | 27.4% | at this date |
| % Female | 48.8% | at this date |
| % Indigenous | 1.9% | at this date |
| % at the APS classification level | 62.1% | at this date |
| % non-ongoing | 1.0% | at this date |
| % part-time (ongoing employees) | 5.3% | at this date |
| % who have worked in only one agency (ongoing employees) | 75.5% | at this date |
| % with a bachelors degree or higher | 64.3% | at this date |
| % with a disability | 2.6% | at this date |
| Exit rate - from agency (ongoing employees) | 8.9% | Year ending December 2025 |
| Headcount | 20,710 | at this date |
| Mean Age (years) | 44.3 years | at this date |
| Median LOS in APS (years) | 7.1 years | at this date |
| Separation rate - from APS (ongoing employees) | 6.6% | at this date |
APSC APS Employment Data, counting this agency including any bodies beneath it. Headcount, not FTE — the APSED release does not publish FTE.
Bodies beneath this agency — as at 2025-12-31
Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Regulator · Australian Submarine Agency · Defence Housing Australia
From the APSC sub-agency breakdown. A body listed here is counted inside the workforce profile above, so do not add the two.
Year by year
| Measure | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APS headcount | 22,481 | 22,086 | 21,163 | 19,953 | 18,567 | 18,568 | 18,780 | 18,776 | 17,421 | 17,414 | 17,038 | 18,391 | 19,803 | 20,545 | 20,710 | ||||
| SES | 183 | 173 | 179 | 183 | 171 | 100 | 87 | 92 | 86 | 93 | 94 | 97 | 103 | ||||||
| Contracts | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 26,597 | 25,670 | 26,673 | 22,775 | 24,544 | 21,589 | 23,223 | 4,647 | |
| Contract value | $4,209,779 | $28,305,347 | $248,777,508 | $320,164,751 | $206,616,741 | $16,067,631 | $126,895,418 | $10,053,554,719 | $116,993,359 | $2,278,536,674 | $26,815,361,085 | $32,573,449,417 | $45,936,351,071 | $35,259,726,009 | $54,646,885,942 | $26,708,547,737 | $41,667,204,846 | $5,545,411,804 | |
| Budget ($000) | 66,885,093 | 70,936,017 | |||||||||||||||||
| KMP disclosed | 35 | 25 | 24 | 4 | 66 | 70 | 37 | ||||||||||||
| Top total pay | $1,024,351 | $1,063,118 | $1,034,315 | $942,727 | $1,062,702 | $1,135,524 | $1,166,705 |
An empty cell means no publishable row for that year — unknown, not nil. Never read a blank as a fall to zero. ⚠️ This agency has not always carried its current name. Figures in the earlier years were reported as Defence (2010-11 to 2025-26). They are shown here because the series is continuous, not because the agency is.
Sources — annual reports
Each link opens transparency.gov.au — the published source the figures were read from. The label names the table to look for.
° The portal does not publish a path for this report, so the link opens the agency's reports on transparency.gov.au rather than that year directly. Pick the year from there.
