Defence and Security Program
Delivering benefits to Australia's defence and security communities
Defence and security provides the foundation of our nation’s sovereignty. In an era of rapidly evolving geopolitics this critical area of national policy sits at the forefront of government and public debates.
Once personified by the idea of geographical remoteness and the ‘tyranny of distance’ from the world’s economic and strategic centres of gravity, Australia is now enarmored by the power of proximity. We sit at the crossroads of the vast Indo-Pacific strategic system that forms the centre of strategic and economic competition in the modern age. Australia’s new geostrategic position brings both enormous opportunities as well as new risks to manage.
The UWA Defence and Security Program (DSP) is focused on investigating Australia’s strategic role in the Indo-Pacific. Through collaboration between the Commonwealth and state governments, industry and academia we deliver public engagement activities, dialogues, academic publications and evidence-based, policy-orientated defence strategic research.
The DSP is committed to providing local and regional perspectives on current and future defence policy challenges. We serve as a hub to the WA community, drawing together UWA academics and researchers with practitioners and partners across the State. With a focus on the dynamic Indo-Pacific region we leverage local perspectives and expertise on issues such regional security; defence industry; disruptive and converging technologies; Australia’s international and defence relations; defence capability development and maritime security.
Drawing on UWA’s distinct geographical advantage as Australia’s Indian Ocean capital city, we support the production of vital perspectives that contribute to an effective policy-ecosystem on national and international defence and security issues.
Policy papers on national and regional defence issues
Public events
View past eventsWestern Australian perspectives on national defence
Indo-Pacific focus
Dialogues and roundtables
Government and Industry Engagement
Western Australian Hub for Defence Policy Issues
UWA's Defence Research Nexus
News
UWA awarded $1.3m grant for WA defence strategy program
A new defence and security program at The University of Western Australia will build on the State’s growing relevance to Australia’s defence strategic environment, using local expertise and perspectives on defence issues such as maritime security.
Read more2020 Australian Defense Strategic Update
The Revenge of Geography, The Diplomat, 22 July
Read moreA New Strategic Song?
ANZUS, The 2020 Australian Defence Update, and Redefining Self-Reliance, War on the Rocks, 12 Aug 2020
Read moreModernising ANZUS
Next-generation perspectives on the US–Australia alliance, with Erin Watson-Lynn, The Strategist, 4 Aug 2020
Read moreThe internal risks to Australia’s new defence strategy
The Strategist, 14 Aug 2020
Read moreCommittee

- Chair
- Professor the Hon. Stephen Smith
- The Honourable Kim Beazley AC
- Professor Amit Chakma
- Laurence Coleman
- Professor Peter J. Dean
- Professor Gordon Flake
- Professor Tim Inglis
- The Hon. David Johnston
- Professor Shayne Loft
- David Norman
- Professor Gia Parish
- Professor Benjamin Reilly
- Pru Steinerts