Satellite project running five years late

A satellite communications upgrade has been added to Defence's shame file of troubled projects.

The job of building a new satellite ground station in Western Australia and upgrade another in the ACT is running five years late, even though it was only given the go-ahead in 2009.

Defence Materiel Organisation acting chief executive Harry Dunstall said it was appropriate to put it on the projects of concern list given significant schedule, technical and cost challenges.

Defence Minister Kevin Andrews has directed DMO to work with the prime contractor BAE Systems to get this project back on track.

The overall project to upgrade defence satellite communications is worth about $1 billion.

Under the projects of concern process, defence officials work with responsible companies to achieve remediation. In a few cases, remediation has been deemed impossible and the project has been cancelled.

There are now seven projects on the list, including Collins submarine support, the multi-role helicopter and the air warfare destroyer project.