BAE Systems Australia defence company moving headquarters to Adelaide’s Lot Fourteen

A multinational defence firm is moving its headquarters to Adelaide’s Lot Fourteen, in a jobs and skills coup for South Australia.

The defence firm building frigates and nuclear-powered submarines in Adelaide in multi-billion dollar projects, BAE Systems Australia, will establish a head office at Lot Fourteen.

About 500 workers will move to the North Tce site as BAE becomes a cornerstone tenant in the precinct’s planned Innovation Centre.

Lot Fourteen was established at the ex-Royal Adelaide Hospital site under the former Liberal government as a “world-class innovation district”, featuring defence, space, cyber, tech and creative firms.

Premier Peter Malinauskas on Monday unveiled plans for the new Innovation Centre, which also will include tenants for three state and federal government projects totalling $100m.

These include a $60m Australian Defence Technologies Academy, $20m Innovation Hub and $20m Space Assembly Integration and Testing facility.

BAE expects to recruit 800 new workers across its SA operations within a year, primarily to gear up for the $368bn AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine project centred on Adelaide.

Premier Peter Malinauskas at BAE Systems Australia’s Osborne shipyard in February. Picture Dean Martin

Mr Malinauskas said Hunter class frigates and AUKUS submarines being built by BAE made SA a major defence player on the global stage.

“We must seize this opportunity to lift our state’s research and innovation capabilities, which has a direct impact on our standard of living,” he said.

“BAE basing its headquarters at Lot Fourteen, alongside universities, the Defence Technologies Academy, Innovation Hub, space industry and other innovative businesses makes perfect sense.

“Our innovation places are key to achieving our ambitions. It is about taking the lead to establish and nurture the right environments that foster collaboration and drive economic complexity, creating new, highly skilled jobs.”

BAE Systems Australia workers at its Osborne shipyard. Picture Dean Martin

BAE Systems Australia chief executive Craig Lockhart said the headquarters at Lot Fourteen would complement the company’s other SA operations at Osborne, Edinburgh Parks, Tonsley and Findon.

“Over the next 12 months we expect to recruit 800 new employees across our operations, and Lot Fourteen is a key enabler to achieving our growth ambitions,” he said.

“As we continue to grow in South Australia and find ways to enhance employee attraction and retention, it’s important we offer a workspace that inspires our teams, fosters creativity and creates spaces for our employees to thrive.”

Launching a revised masterplan for Lot Fourteen, Mr Malinauskas said the Tarrkarri Centre For First Nations Cultures continued to be a “work in process”, despite plans being suspended in October, 2022, after a cost blowout.

Asked by The Advertiser whether it remained an open-ended project or whether there was a cut-off date for abandoning the scheme, Mr Malinauskas said: “I would describe it more as the open-ended possibility.

“Everything construction-oriented recently has escalated in price. This is a challenge we see around the world and it does cause for a moment of pause.

“We’ve got a lot of construction activity happening in the state at the moment and that increased demand can add to costs, so you want to get the balance right.

“But we keep the options open. There’s been no departure from the policy.”