The Albanese Government has released the 2024 Defence Digital Strategy and Roadmap, outlining Defence’s approach to ICT for Australia’s national interest.
As noted in the Defence Strategic Review and highlighted in the release by The Hon Matt Keogh MP, ICT is essential to Defence and modern warfighting capabilities, and plays a key role in ensuring Australia’s readiness to address strategic challenges.
The Strategy and Roadmap detail Defence’s approach to advancing our digital communications and infrastructure, emphasising their critical role in building an integrated force fit for the digital age.
The Strategy focuses Defence’s digital agenda through three core priorities:
- Expanding and uplifting the Australian Defence Force and Australian Public Service to become a best-in-class workforce and reduce reliance on contractors.
- Leveraging the power of leading global platforms.
- Ensuring supply chain resilience, through a focus on strong partnerships to deliver sovereign technologies and capabilities.
Defence will work with industry and academia to implement this agenda.
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The Roadmap identifies ICT capabilities Defence will prioritise and address with urgency, including AI, hyperscalers and productivity platforms. The Government’s investments in enterprise data, digital platforms and networks will strengthen security, resilience and interoperability, and improve the ability to share data efficiently and at scale.
These priority ICT capabilities will be delivered as part of the $8.5–$11 billion the Government will invest in enterprise data and ICT over the next 10 years through the 2024 Integrated Investment Program.
This investment also aims to bolster Defence’s communications infrastructure, ensuring robust and secure communication channels that support effective coordination and operations in the digital age. Enhancing communications is vital for maintaining real-time situational awareness and ensuring that all Defence operations are seamlessly integrated for strategic solutions.
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