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The Albanese Government has taken a major step towards delivering a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet with contracts now signed for Australia’s first three general purpose frigates.

Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the ships will be of the upgraded Japanese Mogami class frigate design, with the first scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in 2029.

The Albanese Government is working closely with the Japanese Government and industry with future ships to be constructed in Western Australia, subject to consolidation of the Henderson Defence Precinct, in line with the Government’s commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding.

Defence is also working with Japanese industry and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force to develop an initial capability to sustain and operate the upgraded Mogami class frigates in Australia, supported by Australian industry and workers.

The upgraded Mogami class frigate has a range of up to 10,000 nautical miles and a 32-cell Vertical Launch System. It will be equipped with surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles, crewed by 92 Royal Australian Navy sailors and officers, and capable of operating Navy’s MH-60R Seahawk maritime combat helicopter.

The decision to acquire upgraded Japanese Mogami class frigates accords with the Albanese Government’s commitment to more than double the size of Navy’s surface combatant fleet, following the 2024 independent analysis of Navy’s surface combatant fleet. In the 2026 Integrated Investment Program released this week, the Government committed to the investment of up to $20 billion over the decade into general purpose frigates.

The contract-signing was marked by the Deputy Prime Minister and his counterpart, the Japanese Minister of Defense, Koizumi Shinjirō signing the ‘Mogami Memorandum’, reaffirming the Australian and Japanese Governments’ shared commitment to the successful delivery of Australia’s general purpose frigates and deeper defence industry cooperation.

Royal Australian Navy personnel trained with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force aboard the Mogami class frigate Japan Ship Kumano during its transit to Australia for Exercise Kakadu, further strengthening interoperability and the longstanding defence relationship between Australia and Japan.

The next two decades will see tens of billions of dollars invested in defence capabilities in Western Australia, including the build of future upgraded Mogami class frigates at the Henderson Defence Precinct, supporting around 10,000 high-skilled jobs.

Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles:

“Acquiring upgraded-Mogami class frigates demonstrates the Albanese Government’s focus on investing in the capabilities we need to keep Australians safe.

“Our surface fleet is more important than at any time in decades. These general purpose frigates will help secure our maritime trade routes and northern approaches as part of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet.”

Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy:

“This is the fastest acquisition for the Royal Australian Navy in peacetime. We are working closely with Japanese and Australian industry partners as we acquire one of the most, if not the most, advanced general-purpose frigate in the world.

“We are delivering these commitments at pace, supporting and creating jobs for Australians, and deepening Australia’s industrial base. The first three frigates will be built offshore in Japan. We will then transition to an onshore build in line with the Government’s commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding and a future made in Australia.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles will tomorrow welcome Japan’s Minister of Defense, Koizumi Shinjiro, to Australia. 

The Ministers will convene in Melbourne for an Australia-Japan Defence Ministers’ Meeting and a tour of JS Kumano, a Mogami class frigate of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. 

Japan is an indispensable partner to Australia. As Special Strategic Partners, we have one of the closest and most enduring partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, underpinned by deep mutual trust, shared values and a high level of strategic alignment built over decades of cooperation. 

Defence engagement is a central pillar of the Australia-Japan partnership, reflecting our shared commitment to regional stability and the deep practical cooperation between our defence forces. The selection of the upgraded Mogami class frigate as Australia’s future general purpose frigate will see our two countries working more closely than ever before. 

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles:

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Australia and Japan, and our partnership continues to go from strength to strength. 

“I look forward to meeting with my good friend Minister Koizumi today to discuss opportunities to deepen Australia and Japan’s defence partnership, including by increasing collaboration between our defence industrial bases through Australia’s general purpose frigate program.” 

Today we are pleased to announce that Australia and Singapore have substantially concluded negotiations on the Protocol on Economic Resilience and Essential Supplies to the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

The Protocol delivers on the Joint Statement on Economic Resilience and Essential Supplies from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on 10 April 2026, in which they committed to support the flow of essential supplies between our countries.

The Protocol reflects the priority we accord each other with respect to trade in essential supplies including petroleum oils, such as diesel, and liquefied natural gas.

It also demonstrates the complementarity and interdependence of our two economies.

The Protocol enhances cooperation on economic resilience including by seeking to manage and minimise supply chain disruptions and endeavouring not to adopt export prohibitions or restrictions on essential supplies between us.

The Protocol also formalises the Australia-Singapore Economic Resilience Dialogue recognised by Prime Ministers in their announcement of 10 April 2026. The Dialogue will serve as the mechanism for cooperation on economic resilience and trade in essential supplies.

The Protocol is guided by the principles of an open, rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core.

The Protocol will enter into force when both Singapore and Australia have completed their domestic processes.

The Court of Appeal has struck down Labor Premier Chris Minns’ post-Bondi anti-protest laws which enabled the NSW Police to extend protest restrictions, the Public Assembly Restriction Declarations (PARD). The challenge was brought by the Blak Caucus and Palestine Action Group.

A PARD was in place during the 9 February protest at Sydney Town Hall against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to NSW where scenes of police violence went viral on social media. Community leaders are calling for the Police to be removed from involvement with any prosecutions related to the protest, and for the Director of Public Prosecutions to withdraw all current and planned prosecutions.

Greens MP, Solicitor and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said:

“Premier Chris Minns has once again been pulled into line by the courts for inflicting unconstitutional laws on the people of NSW. These unconstitutional laws are the reason that Police felt empowered to commit violence against innocent people at Town Hall,

“This decision will upend the prosecutions of protestors who have been charged as a result of attending the protest. The Police must now extract themselves from this mess, they had no authority to issue the directions under these invalid laws, and any charges resulting from police activity at Town Hall need to be withdrawn,

“If these charges are not withdrawn immediately by Police, I am calling on the Director of Public Prosecutions to take over all prosecutions because it is crystal clear that NSW Police cannot run legally sound prosecutions of protestors in circumstances where their own officers were the perpetrators and they had no legal authority,

“Given this outcome, civil liability in the tens of millions is inevitable. People were harmed, their right to march to Parliament was unlawfully obstructed, and no doubt police were harmed too. Premier Chris Minns needs to take responsibility for this.

“Instead of progressing evidence-based reform to combat hate and antisemitism in the aftermath of the Bondi Massacre, the Premier chose to foist unrelated and absurdly anti-democratic anti-protest laws on the parliament knowing they would be declared invalid,

“This authoritarian approach to our democracy by Premier Minns has been repeated too often, at a certain point Labor needs to stop trying to subvert our constitution. If this trend of passing bad laws continues, with the community challenging their constitutionality later, NSW is at serious threat of descending to a very dark place,” Ms Higginson said.

Defence Minister Richard Marles must come clean on his accounting trickery with a radical new measure of defence spending, as well as his $5 billion of secret cuts.

In today’s National Press Club Speech, the Defence Minister obscured more than he revealed.

Australia faces the most dangerous strategic environment since the Second World War, yet two years on from the last National Defence Strategy and the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, the Albanese government refuses to meaningfully increase defence spending and instead has chosen to hide behind accounting tricks.

Historically Australia has used one way of measuring defence spending as a share of GDP, which excluded military pensions and other expenditure. Now when the pressure is on, Labor are changing the rule book to suit their narrative. Accounting tricks don’t make Australians safer.

Only immediate real increases in defence spending will put tangible capability into the hands of war fighters to protect our country.

Anything less is an insult to the men and women serving in uniform and fails to heed the lessons of Ukraine and Iran.

What we do not need is $5 billion of secret cuts to defence capability. The government must come clean with the Australian people and explain what capabilities will be cut, in addition to their previous cuts to infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled Howitzers, F-35s, Hunter class frigates and military communication satellites. Even reservists are having their days cut because Labor has failed to fund defence properly.

If Labor was really increasing defence spending these cuts would not be necessary.

The government must follow the expert advice of people like Sir Angus Houston and Professor Peter Dean and increase real defence spending to 3% of GDP to fund important future capability including AUKUS, without cannibalising the rest of the ADF.