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The achievements of Australia’s inspiring 2017 Invictus Games team have been celebrated during a welcome home function at Parliament House today. Australia’s team of 43 athletes joined more than 550 competitors from 17 nations who have been wounded, injured and ill during their service.  The athletes returned home with 51 medals and numerous personal best performances from the Games in Toronto, Canada, last month.

The achievements of Australia’s inspiring 2017 Invictus Games team have been celebrated during a welcome home function at Parliament House today. Australia’s team of 43 athletes joined more than 550 competitors from 17 nations who have been wounded, injured and ill during their service.  The athletes returned home with 51 medals and numerous personal best performances from the Games in Toronto, Canada, last month.

Minister for Defence Personnel Dan Tehan said serving and former serving military personnel were competing for a spot in the Australian team to compete at the 2017 Invictus Games. Mr Tehan said 53 athletes were competing in a range of events as part of a training camp in Canberra, with the final team of 43 to be named later this year.

Team Australia celebrated their Invictus Games success at a spectacular Closing Ceremony in Dusseldorf, Germany last night. One of the standout performances at the Games came from Erin Brigden, who spent nearly a decade in the Australian Army before medically transitioning to civilian life 18-months ago.

AUSTRALIA is all set to host the fourth Invictus Games in Sydney from 20 to 27 October 2018. As the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 begins tonight with the Opening Ceremony at the Sydney Opera House, the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel Darren Chester has welcomed competitors and their family and friends to Sydney.  “On behalf of the Australian Government, I am honoured to welcome all competitors and their supporters to Sydney and I wish them the best of luck in the coming events,” Mr Chester said.  

Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, today announced Australian and UK Invictus Games Sydney 2018 military teams will compete in the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Minister Payne said two yachts, crewed by current and former serving Defence personnel, will participate in this year’s edition of the iconic race. “The Invictus Games Sydney 2018 DOWN UNDER yacht will be crewed by wounded, injured and ill Australian team members, while a UK crew will board Invictus Games Sydney 2018 GAME ON,” Minister Payne said.

Joint media release: Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel, the Hon Darren Chester MP The Invictus Games Foundation has announced that Invictus Games The Hague 2020, scheduled for 9­-16 May, will not proceed as planned and will likely be postponed as a necessary response to coronavirus COVID-19. 

I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where we meet, near the shores of the Derbal Yerrigan, the Wadjuk Noongar people of the great Noongar Nation and pay my respects to their Elders, past and present. I would like to extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who join us today.

**Check against delivery**

Joint media release: Celia Hammond MP, Member for Curtin   Exciting opportunities are on the way for Western Australian businesses as Defence invests in the redevelopment of critical infrastructure at Irwin Barracks in Karrakatta.  

Australia gratefully accepts Japan’s offer to support Australia’s bushfire response, by providing two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The Japan Self-Defense Force aircraft will transport military and civilian personnel involved with firefighting, as well as equipment required for recovery efforts. As bushfires continue to impact vast areas of Australia, the Australian Defence Force has made a significant contribution to support the bushfire response and recovery effort.

On 7 December 2025, Minister of Defense of Japan Koizumi Shinjiro and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence of Australia the Hon Richard Marles MP met in Tokyo to hold important discussions regarding Japan-Australia defence relations and the security environment impacting our shared interests.

Joint media release Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, the Hon Karen Andrews MP Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, the Hon David Littleproud MP Japan’s space agency, with support from Australian officials, has successfully found its space capsule in remote South Australia carrying samples from a 4 billion year old asteroid.

Joint Media Release:  Prime Minister, Scott Morrison Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport an Regional Development Member for Lyne, Dr David Gillespie Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the airport investment was a game changer and would provide significant economic benefits for the Hunter and Central Coast community.

Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, today announced that Defence will enter into negotiations with Thales Australia, trading as Australian Munitions, for the continued management and operation of Australia’s munition factories in Benalla (Victoria) and Mulwala (New South Wales). Minister Pyne said the Turnbull Government recognises the importance of the Defence- owned munitions factories that produce ammunition for the Australian Defence Force.

Almost 6000 workers are being employed across Australia to deliver a $212.5 million overhaul of health facilities for the Australian Defence Force. The Morrison Government’s Joint Health Command Garrison Facilities Upgrade Project is providing new and upgraded health facilities for ADF personnel at 13 priority Defence locations. The construction programs include new and upgraded facilities to provide primary health care services such as dental, pharmacies, mental health, physiotherapy and allied health care services, including rehabilitation. 

Joint Media Release:  Senator for the Northern Territory, Senator Sam McMahon About 2000 jobs will be supported as a result of the Morrison Government’s $747 million upgrade of facilities at four Defence training areas in the Northern Territory. Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price today announced NT company Sitzler Pty Ltd had been engaged as the Managing Contractor for the Northern Territory Training Areas and Ranges Upgrades Project.

The Albanese Government is upgrading  communication systems on Royal Australian Navy ships under a $200 million program with Boeing Defence Australia that will create dozens of jobs across the Brisbane region. This investment will create more than 50 local jobs primarily in Brisbane, which will be home to the main hub for design and development work for this project.

A major upgrade to the airfield at HMAS Albatross near Nowra in New South Wales will be a significant boost for local jobs and the economy in the Shoalhaven. The $124 million project will have an average daily workforce of 75 workers, which will peak at a daily workforce of 120.

A steel fabrication facility used in the mining boom is getting a new breath of life with Austal making it the construction hub for Pacific Patrol Boats. Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, today opened the new shipbuilding facility in the suburb of Naval Base in Western Australia, which will be used to construct 19 new Pacific Patrol Boats. “The opening of this new production facility demonstrates Austal’s commitment to the Pacific Patrol Boat replacement project,” Minister Pyne said.

The Henderson shipyard was a hive of activity today as Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price viewed first-hand the strong progress of the Arafura Class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) construction, a critical project delivering hundreds of jobs in Western Australia.

Joint media release Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Melissa Price MP An Australian-made miniature satellite has been launched into space to test radio communications technologies to help shape future space capabilities in Australia. The M2 Pathfinder, developed by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force, is a significant next step in developing Defence space systems.

The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Warren McDonald, Chief of Joint Capabilities, has been promoted to the rank of Air Marshal.  Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, said he was proud of the contribution Air Marshal McDonald and Joint Capabilities Group (JCG) had made to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).  “Air Marshal McDonald joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at the age of 15 as an apprentice motor fitter,” Minister Pyne said.

Minister for Foreign Affairs The Hon Julie Bishop MP Minister for Defence Senator the Hon Marise Payne Minister for Trade and Investment The Hon Steven Ciobo MP Joint Communiqué of the ninth Singapore-Australia Joint Ministerial Committee (SAJMC) Joint Communiqué:

Defence Ministers or their representatives from Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga gathered in Viña del Mar for the 10th South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM) from 22 to 24 October 2025. They were joined by observers from Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Mr Baron Waqa, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, attended as a special guest.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence The Hon Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator the Hon Marise Payne, Minister for Defence The Hon Steven Ciobo MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment  

Joint communiqué with:

WE, the Defence Ministers of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Australia, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, met via videoconference on 10 December 2020 for the Seventh ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (hereinafter referred to as "ADMM-Plus");

JULIE BISHOP: Thank you Colonel Lee for hosting us here at the DMZ today. Australia’s Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne and I are in South Korea for the third what’s called “2+2” meeting between Australia and the Republic of Korea’s Foreign and Defence Ministers. This is a timely visit, for the Australia-South Korea relationship has never been closer or stronger. We have very deep economic ties; South Korea is our fourth largest trading partner; our fourth largest export market; and we have a very beneficial Free Trade Agreement between our two countries.

ANDREW HASTIE: