Australian defence industry grew 4.1% in 2022-23

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Released
27/03/2024
Source
Australian Defence Industry Account, experimental estimates, 2022-23 financial year

The Australian defence industry continued to grow during 2022-23, according to the latest release of the Australian Defence Industry Account from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Luisa Ryan, ABS head of satellite accounts, said: “The contribution of defence spending to the Australian economy rose by $415 million in 2022-23 and employment grew by almost 4,000 people. 

“The Australian defence industry directly contributed $10.6 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2022-23, which was a 4.1 per cent increase from the previous year. This followed an 18 per cent rise in defence GVA in 2021-22.

“The number of people employed in the defence industry grew by 6 per cent to over 64,000. The largest rises were seen in New South Wales with 2,000 more people, and South Australia with an additional 900 people.”

Professional, scientific and technical services (excluding Computer system design) contributed 29 per cent ($3.1 billion) to defence GVA. This was followed by Computer system design (16 per cent), Manufacturing (15 per cent), and Construction (15 per cent).

The number of Australian businesses directly providing goods and services to the Department of Defence has been published for the first time in this release.

Nationwide, 5,544 Australian businesses directly provided goods and services to the Department of Defence in 2022-23, with Professional, scientific and technical services (including Computer system design) and Manufacturing combined making up 45 per cent of these businesses.

Media notes

  • The Australian Defence Industry Account measures the direct economic contribution of Defence expenditure to the Australian economy in terms of GVA and employment.
  • GVA is the standard indicator to assess the contribution of an industry or sub-sector to the broader economy. It represents the additional value added through the creation of a product or the provision of a service. 
  • When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
  • For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri).
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