Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles announced a sweeping reorganisation of the defence procurement apparatus today, unveiling plans to form a new Defence Delivery Agency (DDA) to streamline spending and accelerate equipment delivery.

The agency will merge three major divisions — the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG), the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Group (GWEO), and the Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Group (NSSG) — under a unified leadership structure reporting directly to the minister.

The reform, described by Marles as the most significant in half a century, is scheduled to begin on 1 July 2026 when the three bodies will consolidate into a transitional “Defence Delivery Group,” with full independent agency status expected one year later.

A new post, that of National Armaments Director, will lead the agency, with authority equal to the Defence Department Secretary.

Officials say the overhaul aims to correct chronic inefficiencies — including repeated cost overruns and project delays in major defence programs such as shipbuilding and capability acquisition — by centralising accountability and simplifying management.

The government estimates that the DDA will oversee about 40 per cent of the department’s procurement budget.

With the wider defence budget set to increase by A$70 billion over the next decade, the move is intended to deliver a “much bigger bang for buck” and ensure that new funding yields tangible military capability.

The restructure arrives amid heightened strategic pressure and regional security concerns in the Indo-Pacific, with increased emphasis on the ambitious continuous naval shipbuilding programme, guided-weapons acquisition and sustainment of current capabilities.

By forging an agency focused solely on delivery, leadership in Canberra seeks to demonstrate orderly management and robust reform as Australia deepens its defence posture.

Some defence-industry analysts caution that merging large bureaucratic units carries transitional risks — from potential staff redundancies to challenges in merging differing organisational cultures.

However, the government has emphasised that the same workforce will transition to the new structure, and that the focus remains on improving performance rather than cutting personnel.

The success of the reform, they note, will hinge on whether the new agency can deliver projects on schedule and within budget at a time when defence commitments and expectations are high.

As Australia prepares for a substantial increase in defence expenditures and major procurement milestones ahead, the launch of the Defence Delivery Agency signals a foundational shift in how the country plans to manage and deliver its military capability needs for decades to come.