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When Australian defence procurement goes wrong: Improving outcomes in a troubled contractual environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Jenny Stewart  and
Tony Ablong
Jenny Stewart*
Affiliation:
The University of New South Wales, Australia
Tony Ablong
Affiliation:
The University of New South Wales, Australia
*
Jenny Stewart, School of Business, University of New South Wales, Canberra, BC 2610, Australia. Email: j.stewart@adfa.edu.au
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Abstract

Defence procurement is a notoriously difficult and often controversial field of public management. In Australia, problems with schedule and budget overruns have been addressed through business process reforms aimed at tightening control and improving professionalism. However, studies of complex contracting in other contexts show the importance of relational factors of trust, collaboration and risk-sharing. These factors are not encouraged by the predominantly transactionally based contractual environment of Defence. Based on a detailed examination of three case studies, we suggest that there is a disjunct between the types of controls that are applied by Defence and the requirements of delivering complex, long-term projects involving multiple stakeholders. The need for both improved flexibility as well as heightened accountability is evident. We argue that balancing these values involves processes that encourage, rather than discourage, communication, risk-sharing and trust.

Keywords

H570H830Australiacontractscontractualismdefenceflexibilityprocurementpublic–private partnershipstrust
Type
Non-Symposium Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , June 2013 , pp. 238 - 254
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2013

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