The federal government has vowed to overhaul Defence to reduce significant project delays and waste of public funds, as record amounts are committed to military spending.
A delivery group, which consolidates three areas of Defence including the guided weapons and explosive ordnance group, began operating on Wednesday.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy will reveal the blowouts as part of a series of announcements, including the scrapping of the Defence Investment Committee, during a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday.
Under the delivery group, about a dozen projects were reviewed which found costs had increased by 38 per cent before any contracts were signed, amounting to $29 billion.
The Defence Investment Committee, set up as an oversight body, has been found to be no longer fit for purpose.
The committee met 13 times in 2025 for about 60 hours, with 14 extra out-of-session meetings.
Those meetings involved 26 senior executives and senior defence force officers, resulting in time being wasted on preparing briefs, rather than on delivering projects.
Despite the reform, Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge said blowouts were taking place when Labor initially agreed to scrap the major projects report, before backflipping on the decision to cancel scrutiny.
"The fact that $29 billion is just the tip of the iceberg ... basically a dozen projects, and their cost overruns shows how deep the problems are inside Defence," he told reporters in Canberra.
"Until politics toughens up and decides to hold Defence to account, decides to hold the ministers who fail to account - this will keep happening."
A Labor-led parliamentary committee agreed earlier in 2026 to shelve the major projects report into Defence, which has been prepared by the Australian National Audit Office since 2008.
The government was slammed over the move, which was criticised as a blow to transparency and accountability.
Mr Conroy will also say "the task force found that Defence's costing capability has atrophied over time – it's become fragmented, under-resourced, and over-reliant on contractors and consultants''.
"We are talking about multibillion-dollar capability projects, integral to the defence of our nation and to peace and stability in our region."
Mr Conroy will also announce a shake up of the $4.36 billion Defence Export Facility, which has only been used three times since being established in 2018.
Positioning Labor as the party of defence, he will argue the reforms are essential and his government can be trusted with national security.
Mr Conroy will also release the Defence Industry Development Strategy, a blueprint to developing the nation's industrial base.
"We are getting back to making our own stuff where it makes sense and leveraging our allies and trusted partners where we cannot," he will say.
"A strong sovereign defence industrial base mitigates risk … decreases dependencies … and means we can make things here."
From July 2027, the Defence Delivery Agency will become operational with a mandate for project delivery.
Recruitment is under way for the agency's national armaments director, who will advise government.
A candidate with private sector experience is being sought following years of bungled procurement.
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