This chapter contains links to statements and official documents issued jointly by the three governments related to the AUKUS partnership. Together they represent the coordinated public face of this partnership. Where the same joint statements or documents were simultaneously published by the different AUKUS governments, we have included just one instance of the statement or document to avoid unnecessary duplication.
The statements linked below represent both trilateral as well as bilateral partnership announcements and include the initial announcement of AUKUS in September 2021, subsequent anniversary announcements, the release of the AUKUS “Optimal Pathway” in March 2023, the official State visit of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the United States in October 2023, and AUKUS Defence Ministerial updates and joint statements.
The latest joint statements, published in March and April 2024, summarised a number of important updates and future plans to advance Pillar 1 and Pillar 2, including:
- Australia’s planned investment of AUD$18 billion in infrastructure upgrades to enable the Optimal Pathway, the United States’ planned investment of US$11.4 billion in its submarine industrial base, and the United Kingdom’s planned investment of £3 billion into its Defence Nuclear Enterprise to support delivery of SSN-AUKUS;
- Selection of the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) and BAE Systems to build the SSN-AUKUS submarines for the Royal Australian Navy, and for ASC to serve as its nuclear-powered submarine sustainment partner;
- The March 2024 visit by USS Annapolis to HMAS Stirling in Australia, and preparations to support a major US SSN maintenance activity in the second half of 2024;
- Various military and industry submarine personnel training milestones;
- Several key export control reform updates, including:
- The December 2023 passage of the US FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a pathway to provide export exemptions to Australia and the United Kingdom;
- The March 2024 passage of the Australia Defence Trade Controls Amendment Act 2024 that provides reciprocal exemptions to the the United States and United Kingdom;
- The United Kingdom’s intention to reform its Open General Export License Program to provide reciprocal exemptions to Australia and the United States;
- The March 2024 announcement of the first Pillar 2 Innovation Challenge;
- Initial convenings of the Defence Investors Network and AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Industry Forum;
- Release of a Statement of Intent to develop land contributions to AUKUS Pillar 2;
- Announcement of the AUKUS nations’ intent to consider Pillar 2 collaborations with Japan on a project-by-project basis.