George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you Senator Madigan, for the courtesy of advance notice to the minister's office of this question. Project LAND 125 phase 3B will deliver modernised individual soldier survivability equipment including enhancements to body armour and helmets, individual load carriage high protection and hearing protection. You are correct, Senator, in saying that the first contract, worth approximately $60 million, has been awarded to Australian Defence Apparel Pty Ltd, a company based in Victoria. The complete soldier combat ensemble capability will be delivered to the Australian Defence Force as three tranches of about 7,500 sets of equipment each over the period 2015 to 2017. The initial material release of approximately 1,000 sets of soldier combat ensembles will be delivered in May 2015.

Other than the contract with ADA, additional equipment is currently being sourced through a number of Australian distributors. Those include Frontline Safety Australia, a Queensland based business, for ballistic eye protection, J Blackwood and Son, who are providing combat the hearing protection, and Spearpoint Solutions, a Queanbeyan company, for combat helmets. The remaining element, body armour, is currently the subject of contract negotiations.