APS vs Subcontractors: Who Will Deliver Australia’s Defence Capability?
The structure of the Australian Defence workforce is changing.Defence has confirmed its intention to rebalance capability delivery across the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Australian Public Serv...
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Retaining Mid-Career Defence Talent: Why They Leave and How to Keep Them
Attracting and retaining talent in the Australian defence industry can be tricky. Projects like AUKUS, Hunter Class Frigates, Land 400 Phases 2 and 3 and a range of guided weapons programs are driv...
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Planning for 2026 After a Cautious Year in Defence Hiring
It’s been a big year for Kinexus. We launched our 11th edition of Defence Industry Insights, secured several tender wins and had strong engagement across the sector, including hosting a workforce...
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The Hidden Job Market in Defence: How to Get Hired Without Applying
The Australian defence industry job market continues to grow, fuelled by major programs such as AUKUS, the Hunter-class frigates, LAND 400, and emerging autonomous systems like Ghost Shark. These ...
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Are Contractors the Solution to the Talent Shortage in Defence Industry?
Building workforce capability in a changing defence industry landscapeRecruiting and retaining skilled workers in the Australian defence industry remains a complex challenge. Demand for cleared def...
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What Employee Benefits are Primes and SMEs Offering?
At Kinexus, if we had a dollar for the number of times we’ve been asked: what do other companies offer? Well, we’d have a lot of dollars!Creating a fit-for-purpose Employee Value Proposition (EVP)...
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How to Build a Defence Recruitment Process That Attracts the Right Candidates
Recruiting in the Australian defence industry is no small feat. With high demand for skilled workers across land, air, sea and ICT sectors, companies need to develop a recruitment strategy that is ...
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The Defence Projects Map; Defence Industry Insights 11th Edition Sneak Peak
The eleventh edition of our Defence Industry Insights will be published in the coming weeks. Launching at Avalon Airshow 2025, and online soon afterwards, this blog provides a preview of the muc...
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Four Ways To Safeguard Your Workforce During Uncertain Times
Things have changed in the land of defence industry workforce. The DSR of 2022 caused much uncertainty in defence industry and slowed the strong growth in workforces experienced since 2016. Whils...
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The Battle For Talent: What Additional Benefits Are On Offer
Key Points:Increasing focus on Employee Value Proposition (EVP) within the defence industryEVP is a crucial factor in employee satisfactionDifferent EVP priorities exist during the attraction and...
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Defence Industry Insights 10: Our Top Five Takeaways
Since 2016, Kinexus has been publishing our Defence Industry Insights to help people and employers understand the defence industry workforce landscape. Now that our Tenth Edition of the document h...
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Major Defence Projects by State Map: Defence Industry Insights 10th Edition Excerpt
Our long-awaited Defence Industry Insights will be published in the coming weeks! Here is a sneak preview of the ever-popular Defence Projects by State Map that features in our Tenth Edition. Sinc...
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Defence Industry Survey Results Show Workforce Confidence Still Sky High Despite DSR
It’s that time of year again: the results are out of Kinexus’ annual defence industry workforce survey. Since 2005, Kinexus has been surveying the defence sector workforce to gain insights into th...
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Highest workforce demand in years; location and sector growth explained
Kinexus’ 2023 Hiring Intentions report reveals insights into the hiring demands of defence industry. Around 80% of defence industry employers were surveyed, and huge growth is predicted. In the ne...
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Interested In Contract Work? Here's How Your Pay Rate Gets Calculated
In 2023 Kinexus launched a brand-new insight document: the Contractor Rate Card – Victoria Edition. In response to fast paced defence industry growth, employers nationwide are considering innovati...
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5 Ways SMEs Can Avoid Losing Out On Talent to Big Companies
We all know it’s tough out there. Finding the right candidate for a role, at the right time, and at the right price, can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. The odds are even more stacked ag...
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Lessons We Learned in 2022 and What We Can Expect in 2023
And just like that, the year 2022 is wrapping up. It’s been a big year in defence industry recruitment; let’s take a look back at what changed, what we learned and what we can look forward to in 2...
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A Spotlight On the Cyber Talent Pool
The cyber sector looks set to take out the title of sector to experience the most significant growth over the next decade. With the announcement of Project REDSPICE comes a $9.9 billion investment...
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Wondering What You Need To Apply For A Security Clearance?
Many defence industry jobseekers will be familiar with seeing the words ‘Australian defence security clearance required’ on a job advert. It’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation; it’s hard to ge...
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A Spotlight On The Maritime Engineering Talent Pool
With the amount of Defence projects coming downrange, it is crucial to understand what the candidate market looks like. Only by understanding the current market can jobseekers make the best-inform...
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A Spotlight On The ILS Talent Pool
With the amount of Defence projects coming downrange, it is crucial to understand what the candidate market looks like. Only by understanding the current market can jobseekers make the best-inform...
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The Defence Industry Aerospace Sector: Here's What You Need To Know
Whether you are new to the industry or a defence industry veteran, Kinexus’ Defence Industry Insights provides valuable information about what’s going on across the plethora of acquisition and sus...
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The Defence Industry ICT And Cyber Sector: Here's What You Need To Know
Whether you are new to the industry or a defence industry veteran, Kinexus’ Defence Industry Insights provides valuable information about what’s going on across the plethora of acquisition and sus...
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The Defence Industry Land Sector: Here's What You Need To Know
Whether you are new to the industry or a defence industry veteran, Kinexus’ Defence Industry Insights provides valuable information about what’s going on across the plethora of acquisition and sus...
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A New Submarine Capability, But What Happens Now?
The landmark announcement from the Australian, UK and US governments declaring the AUKUS security pact is one of the most significant ever made. Whilst the AUKUS pact will have a bearing on more th...
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Where Are Adjacent Industries Bidding For Defence Industry Talent?
It’s that time of year again. Kinexus has launched the Defence Industry Insights – Eighth Edition. In this document we analyse defence industry salary changes, take a look at workforce demographic...
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Why Having No Defence Industry Experience Is A Strength, Not A Flaw
A lot has changed since we originally published this blog in 2021. Although large projects like LAND 400 Phase 3, AIR 6500, JP 9102, LAND 8710, and RMP(E) have been announced, they have not transla...
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The Rise of Cloud and Cyber Technologies in Defence Industry
Australia’s defence sector is undergoing a transformative technological upgrade, as the nation bolsters its infrastructure capabilities within the fast evolving global digital sphere.The Federal G...
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How Do You Get Sponsored For A Security Clearance in Defence Industry?
This blog has been updated in 2026 to reflect recent trends. Working in Australia’s defence industry often means coming into contact with sensitive and secret information pertaining to national so...
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The Year That Was: A Defence Industry Wrap Up
Defence industry has been resilient during COVID-19 and is set for strong growthFederal Government has bolstered defence spendingIndustry must address looming skills shortage2020 has seen a seism...
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Recession Proof Careers: Defence Jobs Australia
Key points: Australian defence industry experiencing job growthMass job losses across other Australian industriesDefence industry offers strong opportunity and securityThe Australian defence indus...
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See What Defence Industry Is Working On Right Now
Here are the current defence projects broken down by state.Our Defence Industry Insights – Seventh Edition is now available to download. This is our annual defence industry report including all thi...
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A Spotlight on the Aerospace Engineering Talent Pool
With the amount of defence projects coming downrange, it is crucial to understand what the candidate market looks like for you to best prepare your hiring strategy. We dissect the aeronautical/aero...
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A Spotlight on the Electrical Engineering Talent Pool
With the amount of Defence projects coming downrange, it is crucial to understand what the candidate market looks like for you to best prepare your hiring strategy. We dissect the Electrical Engine...
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How is Defence Industry Feeling about COVID-19?
As a part of our annual Salary Survey we asked respondents how the COVID-19 crisis has affected them. We had over 800 responses, which we have summarised below, with a couple of notable observati...
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