Defence · Position → Comply → Respond → Get on Panel
$330B+ in defence investment this decade. Most SMEs will never see a dollar of it.
AUKUS, the National Defence Strategy, estate upgrades, ISR expansion, the pipeline is unprecedented, and Defence is Australia's largest single procurement agency. The barrier isn't capability. It's that Defence buys through CASG, CDIC, DHA and ASD on its own templates, its own security regime and its own panels, and businesses that don't learn the system get filtered out before an evaluator reads a word.
Visionex Solutions is a proud member of the Australian Industry and Defence Network (AIDN), the peak body for Australian SMEs in defence.
The pipeline
The money is committed. Access is the problem.
More than $330 billion in defence investment over the next decade, driven by AUKUS commitments, the National Defence Strategy, base and estate upgrades and a rapidly expanding ISR programme. Defence is Australia's largest single procurement agency, buying everything from garrison cleaning to sovereign missile components, through bodies most SMEs have never dealt with: CASG for materiel and construction, CDIC for industry entry, DHA for base services, ASD for secure ICT.
Here's the uncomfortable part: the pipeline being unprecedented doesn't help you if you can't access it. No DISP membership, no ASDEFCON fluency, no AIC plan worth reading, and you're not competing, you're spectating. The businesses winning Defence work over the next ten years are the ones doing the positioning work now, before the tender drops.
Sub-sectors
What we deliver in each
01
Base Operations & Facilities
DHA base services, garrison support, cleaning and grounds contracts. DISP vetting is mandatory, no membership, no contract, no exceptions.
02
Construction & Maintenance
ADF base construction and estate upgrades, CASG-managed and issued in ASDEFCON format. Commercial builders who respond in commercial format get scored out.
03
Logistics & Supply Chain
Materiel sustainment under the ASDEFCON Support template, with AIC obligations that evaluators actually score, not a paragraph of goodwill.
04
ICT & Communications
Defence ICT under ASD frameworks, PROTECTED environments and AUKUS-aligned technology. Security architecture is the bid, not an appendix.
05
Equipment & Supply
Standing offer panels via AusTender, AIDN membership and the Australian-made preference. Panel position first, then the orders follow.
How we win Defence tenders
Six strategies, none of them "write it better"
Strategy 01
DISP readiness check first
No DISP membership means automatic disqualification on most Defence contracts. We check your status before anything else, because a brilliant bid from an ineligible bidder scores zero.
Strategy 02
ASDEFCON response mastery
ASDEFCON has its own evaluation framework, and we write to it, clause by clause. A generic commercial format on an ASDEFCON RFT reads as non-compliant, because it is.
Strategy 03
Sovereign capability positioning
AIC plans with actual local content percentages, an Australian workforce story and supply chain sovereignty evaluators can verify. "We support Australian industry" scores nothing.
Strategy 04
AUKUS alignment strategy
AUKUS is reshaping what Defence buys and who it buys from. We position your capability against the priorities Defence is funded to pursue, in the language its evaluators are told to reward.
Strategy 05
Security-aware bid writing
Defence bids fail in both directions, too vague to score, or too detailed to be responsible. We write responses that are compelling without compromising security-sensitive detail.
Strategy 06
ISR panel entry strategy
Industry Support Register panels turn open-tender hunting into invitations to bid. We map which panels fit your capability and build the entry case.
Free downloads
See what winning looks like
PDF · Email-gated
Sample Defence Tender Proposal
A redacted, anonymised Defence tender response. The real structure, mapped to the ASDEFCON template, with the AIC plan, security management plan and personnel schedule laid out the way evaluators expect to score them.
PDF · Email-gated
SME Guide to Entering Defence Procurement
DISP registration, AusTender setup, AIDN membership, AIC obligations, which panels to target first, and the disqualification mistakes that knock SMEs out before evaluation begins.
These guides show you how Defence procurement actually works. They won't write your tender for you, that part's on you, or on us.
The VXS evaluation lens
What sections win Defence tenders, and where bids fail
Critical sections in every Defence tender
- Technical response, mapped to the ASDEFCON clause structure, not your preferred format
- AIC plan, percentage of Australian content, local jobs, supply chain sovereignty
- Security management plan, DISP compliance, facility clearances, personnel vetting
- Personnel & clearance schedule, named personnel with clearance levels stated
- Risk & transition plan, site-specific, contract-specific, never templated
- AUKUS / innovation alignment, scored under 2024 National Defence Strategy priorities
Where Defence bids fail
- Wrong template structure, a commercial format on an ASDEFCON RFT is scored non-compliant
- Generic AIC plan, "we support Australian industry" with no percentages and no named suppliers
- Boilerplate security plan that doesn't meet DISP requirements
- No AUKUS or innovation language anywhere in the response
- Personnel schedule missing clearance levels
We fix every one of these, specifically for your next Defence tender.
Groundwork worth reading
Two guides cover the documents and the process behind every submission in this sector.
Planning a Defence bid? Start with a strategy session.
We review your DISP status, capability alignment and ASDEFCON readiness before you commit a dollar to the pursuit.