Defence supply chain consultancy
Defence buyers can't shortlist what they can't find.
You make something defence needs. We'll show you the way in and make your business defence-able, so it holds up when anyone checks. We get you positioned for tenders and grants too.
The national effort is already under way.
Defence is building onshore, and that work needs Australian suppliers. Plenty of them are hard to find.
-
$887 billion
Total defence funding to 2035-36.
-
5,165
Australian businesses already working in defence industry.
-
63,500
Australians employed in it.
Funding: Minister for Defence (opens in a new tab), 2026-27 Budget, 12 May 2026. Businesses and employment, 2024-25: ABS, Australian Defence Industry Account (opens in a new tab), released 17 April 2026.
The capability is here. Finding it is the hard part.
Some of the parts in a submarine built at Osborne could be machined a few suburbs away. The business making them might not turn up in a single search.
A buyer looks you up and can't tell what you make. They move on to a name they already know. Nobody tells you it happened.
That gap is what we work on.
Right across Australia.
Based in Melbourne and Brisbane, and open to suppliers anywhere in Australia.
13 defence precincts, across all eight states and territories.
- Darwin, East Arm NT Ship lift and marine industry
- Cairns QLD Naval maintenance and logistics
- Townsville QLD Northern Army and Air Force hub
- Brisbane to Amberley QLD Air base, vehicle factory
- Williamtown NSW Aerospace precinct
- Garden Island, Sydney NSW Fleet base and ship repair
- Nowra NSW Navy aviation, tech park
- Canberra ACT Defence headquarters
- Bendigo VIC Protected vehicle factory
- Fishermans Bend VIC Innovation and autonomy
- Hobart TAS Maritime precinct
- Osborne and Edinburgh SA Naval shipyard and defence precinct
- Henderson WA Shipbuilding and sustainment
Wherever you're based, you can still take part in the defence supply chain.
Publicly listed defence precincts and industry clusters, checked 1 October 2026. A map of where the industry is, not where Ironpeak works.
How defence buys.
Most suppliers never sell to Defence directly. They sell to a prime, and a prime checks you out first.
-
Defence funds the work.
It plans the programs and sets the money aside, years ahead.
-
Primes win the big programs.
Then they buy a lot of what goes into them from smaller suppliers.
-
You get checked first.
Defence or a prime, they look you up before they call.
Three things a defence buyer checks.
Considered gets you eligible and positioned for what the panel scores. The other two make sure the business behind it checks out.
- Considered Can you answer what the panel scores? See Considered
- Credible Does your business hold up when anyone looks you up, security included? See Credible
- Found Can a buyer find you where they search? See Found
If a contract needs DISP membership, we'll introduce you to the people who prepare it.
Every buyer runs the same checks.
A Defence-able Review shows you how you'd do on each one, and what to fix first. We walk you through it on a call.
Where does yours stand?
Six places a buyer looks before they call.
Missing from one, or saying something different in each, is enough to lose the shortlist. Most are free to join, and we never charge for access. We just get each one right.
ICN Gateway
The national supplier platform primes use to find Australian suppliers.
JOSCAR-AU
One supplier assurance record that participating primes draw on.
AusTender
Where Commonwealth and Defence tenders are published. Its Supplier Portal holds your profile.
ANZ Defence Directory
Searched by capability, location and CAGE code.
Prime supplier portals
Each prime's own front door, each asking for the same facts differently.
CAGE code
A supplier identifier some defence work requires.
Ironpeak is independent of every register here.
We only work in defence.
So we know which words hold up with a buyer
We won't stretch a claim, even a small one.
Defence buyers check
The Open Window.
The defence grants and tenders that fit a business like yours, each one in a few lines.
- Fortnightly
- Under 400 words
- Unsubscribe any time
Start with the Defence-able Review.
Send us your web address. We'll walk you through your Defence-able report on a call, and what to fix first.