News Review: AIC Plans to be made public / ADM Dec 2011 / Jan 2012

Details of the Australian Industry Capability Plans (AICPs) for all future major Defence acquisition projects will be made public, according to defence materiel minister Jason Clare. 

AICPs are a mandatory part of capital equipment projects worth over $20 million and describe how Defence companies propose to maximise opportunities for the involvement of Australian industry in major Defence capability projects. 

“This is an important reform for Australia’s Defence Industry,” Clare said. “It will ensure the commitments made by major Defence companies to Australian industry are public and they are held accountable for them.” 

Earlier this year Clare announced a number of reforms to the AICP program. These include included: 

• The reduction of the threshold for mandatory AICPs from $50 million to $20 million for all eligible Defence acquisition contracts.
• The removal of the ability of a company to arbitrarily reduce the level and type of work included in an AICP
• The inclusion of a new clause in the Conditions of Tender allowing a company to be excluded from a tender if they have previously failed to meet their AICP obligations 
• The addition of AICP performance in the Company Scorecard used by Defence to assess a company’s performance
• Putting AICP performance in the DMO Project Manager’s Charter to make project teams accountable. 

“This is the next step. It is a common-sense idea,” Clare said.  “The Australian Defence Industry Network and a lot of Australian small and medium enterprises I have met with have asked for this and the Government has delivered.” 

AICPs are also required for major sustainment contracts. The details of AICPs for major sustainment contracts signed after 1 January, 2012 will also be publicly released. These reforms follow the Prime Minister’s announcement on 6 October of measures to strengthen opportunities for Australian industry to compete for work across Government.