Australia
Sea Trials for the first 72m High Speed Support Vessel for the Royal Navy of Oman

Our Story

Austal commenced operations in Henderson, Western Australia in 1988 with a vision to build high quality commercial vessels for the international market. Since then, the company has produced over 260 commercial and defence vessels for over 100 customers in 50 countries and grown to comprise ship building facilities in Australia, the USA and Philippines and service centres located around the world.

Today, Austal is a global defence prime contractor and acknowledged world leader in the design and construction of customised defence and commercial vessels. Austal is proud to list amongst its customers many of the world’s leading commercial and defence fleet operators, including the Australian Border Force, US Navy and Royal Australian Navy.

As a strategic business unit of the Austal Group and key partner within Austal’s global network of shipyards and service centres, Austal Australia provides vessel design, construction and support services from ship building facilities in Henderson, Western Australia, and service centres in Darwin, Northern Territory and Cairns, Queensland. The company has also established a business development office in Australia’s capital, Canberra.

Proudly designing and building some of the world’s most iconic ships (including the world’s largest and fastest trimaran passenger ferry), Austal Australia has been the centre of defence and commercial vessel design and innovation for the Austal Group  and is an established and highly respected provider of sustainment services, globally.

Austal Australia has also developed and continues to design, install, integrate and maintain sophisticated vessel information management systems (such as MarineLink and IMARCS), communications and radar systems and advanced ride control systems (RideControl).

Following the establishment of Austal Philippines and the re-alignment of commercial ship building operations to Balamban, Cebu in 2012, Austal Australia’s focus has become defence vessel design and construction for the Australian and global export markets.

Austal Australia played a critical role in the design and development of the iconic Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) (formerly the Joint High Speed Vessel) programs for the US Navy; and has designed, constructed and provided in-service support to both the Armidale Class Patrol Boat (ACPB) program for the Royal Australian Navy and the Cape Class Patrol Boat (CCPB) program as Prime contractor for the Australian Border Force, amongst many others.

Currently delivering the High Speed Support Vessel (HSSV) program for the Royal Navy of Oman, Austal Australia is now rightfully acknowledged as a leader in delivering revolutionary defence solutions, globally. Austal Australia's success in ship design, construction, commissioning and sustainment is based on:

  • in-house design expertise developed for over 28 years offering customisation and flexibility;
  • high quality, innovative, technologically advanced and market-proven products and services;
  • a diversified, globally competitive product range;
  • a focus on meeting customer requirements and exceeding customer expectations;
  • a productive, skilled and stable workforce in safe and sustainable working environments;
  • on-time and on-budget delivery; and
  • sound financial management and fiscal strength.