Industry sectors

NSW offers a highly attractive location for defence and aerospace companies looking to establish an Asia Pacific base to service both domestic and global supply chains.

Download NSW
Defence Sector Profile

The NSW defence industry supplies and supports defence, maritime and civil aerospace markets and has a depth of capability in design, manufacturing, systems integration, project management and training.

• Find out about how we can assist your defence-related business move to NSW

Primed for success

The NSW defence industry supplies and supports defence, maritime and civil aerospace markets and has a depth of capability in design, manufacturing, systems integration, project management and training.

All the major prime defence contractors operate in NSW. They are supported by a strong SME base, characterised by diverse industry capabilities supporting air, land, sea and joint domains.

Our State offers Australia's largest and most diverse economy and national leadership in manufacturing, logistics, electronics, ICT, business services and other areas relevant to Australian defence needs.

Skilled workforce

NSW has Australia's largest supply of defence related skilled workers. In 2008, 56 per cent of NSW's working age population held tertiary qualifications - the highest proportion of any State. This included over 1.4 million people with vocational qualifications.

Our State has the greatest concentration of engineering professionals, with over 51,000 workers qualified in engineering and related disciplines. NSW is also home to world class defence related R&D.

NSW is also home to world class research centres that conduct defence and cross-sector R&D including:

• the Australian information and communications technology Centre of Excellence NICTA
• the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems
• the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computer Technology
• the University of Wollongong's Defence Materials Technology Centre node.

Defence infrastructure

Our State is home to over 80 defence sites - including RAAF bases at Williamtown, Wagga Wagga and Richmond and naval bases in Sydney and Nowra - and over a third of Australia's Defence personnel.

Further information

Investing in the NSW defence industry
More information on how we can assist you in bringing your defence industry business to NSW.

NSW Aerospace Directory
A profile of profiles aerospace related companies and organisations that have a presence in NSW.