Australia’s next generation of vessels will require modern, standardised sustainment infrastructure.
The Australian Standardised Shipyard Infrastructure Strategy (ASSIST) proposes a sovereign-led, industry-backed approach to align maritime sustainment infrastructure with Government priorities.
To improve efficiency, lower costs, accelerate delivery and strengthen fleet readiness.
ASSIST is a scalable, standardised, and future-ready delivery model that integrates dry-docking, advanced shiplift systems and cradles, operating systems, advanced manufacturing, green and advanced steels, and smart sustainment technologies.
Since WW2, Cairncross has been a strategically important location in the Pacific Rim. It remains well placed to support Australian and Allied fleet sustainment requirements and to demonstrate ASSIST in operation.
Within Brisbane’s Trade Coast Precinct. Zoned for shipyard operations with site utilities connected.
Large-scale graving dock and fit out wharves with adjacent hard stands and marine leases.
High-capacity Hydraulic Chain Jack (HCJ) vertical shiplift and transfer system. ASSIST integrates data-driven 4D shipyard modelling, enabling virtual design, testing and operational monitoring.
Future maritime sustainment infrastructure risks being developed around non-standard, non-optimised designs – potentially compromising safety, extending maintenance duration, and reducing fleet readiness, while foregoing supply-chain efficiencies and increasing training overheads. ASSIST addresses this by:
Embedding sustainment requirements into vessel and facility design from the outset.
Combining sovereign direction with private investment and industry capability to accelerate delivery of critical infrastructure.
Establishing a repeatable, scalable approach to maritime sustainment infrastructure that can be applied nationally.
Building national maritime resilience through sovereign shipyard systems, skilled workforces, and secure supply chains.
ASSIST is a proposed sovereign-led, industry-backed initiative being advanced through the ASSIST Alliance. It establishes a scalable model for standardised shipyard sustainment infrastructure, designed to be shaped jointly by Government and industry, to support Australia’s current and future naval and commercial fleets in a cost-effective and nationally consistent manner.
Maritime sustainment infrastructure in Australia has not always kept pace with advances in vessel design, leading to higher costs and reduced fleet readiness. ASSIST addresses this challenge by promoting a standardised approach to shipyard sustainment infrastructure, enabling timely, cost-effective delivery and strengthening control of critical maritime systems.
ASSIST provides a framework to strengthen Australia's control over shipyard sustainment capability - spanning infrastructure, systems, skills, and supply chains. It does so by establishing a nationally consistent model that enables government and industry to plan, invest and operate in ways that build sovereign capability and resilient maritime supply chains.
There are several ways to engage with ASSIST. The Alliance welcomes collaboration where there is clear alignment with its strategic objectives, and engages through briefings, technical discussions and site visits.
