Australia needs to improve its ability to move military supplies and equipment to the country’s north, with a new report warning that much of its industrial and defence support capacity remains thousands of kilometres from where it could be needed during a conflict.
A new explainer from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has identified a major gap between Australia’s substantial logistics capacity and its ability to sustain military operations across the north under contested conditions.
The report, Closing the distance: Australia’s northern theatre logistics distribution gap, says much of Australia’s industrial, maintenance, storage and logistics capability remains concentrated in the south and south-east. At the same time, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) may be required to operate thousands of kilometres further north, placing pressure on long and potentially vulnerable supply routes.
ASPI said Australia already has significant logistics capability spread around the country, but much of the capacity needed to generate, repair, replenish and store military capability is separated from the northern theatre by a fragile overland transport network.
This includes the single sealed Stuart Highway and the single-track Adelaide to Darwin railway, which carries around six scheduled freight services in each direction each week.
The report argues the Northern Territory could play a central role as the forward end of Australia’s national logistics network, drawing on its ports, airfields, fuel systems, civilian logistics capacity, industry and allied presence.
However, ASPI said the key issue was whether the network connecting these assets with Australia’s broader support base had sufficient capacity, redundancy and protection to continue operating during a conflict.
The warning comes as the Federal Government increases investment in defence logistics and northern infrastructure. According to the report, the 2026 Integrated Investment Plan allocates between $14 billion and $21 billion to theatre logistics and health, between $13 billion and $16 billion to northern bases, and between $26 billion and $36 billion to guided weapons and explosive ordnance.
ASPI said the investment provides an important foundation, but additional infrastructure alone will not close the gap. Australia also needs resilient transport networks, forward stockholding and sufficient repair, replenishment, civilian infrastructure and workforce capacity to keep military operations running under pressure.
Ultimately, the report argues Australia’s preparedness should be judged by whether it can move, sustain and replenish forces in the north at the required speed and for as long as an operation demands, rather than simply by the amount of defence infrastructure it possesses.
