What AUKUS costs Australia
The Government's own figures, as published when the submarine plan was announced in March 2023.
Updated 21 October 2026
The Prime Minister's office released its headline numbers on 14 March 2023 [1]. We have used only figures from that release. Later Budget papers may have revised them.
The long-run cost was put at about 0.15 per cent of GDP per year, averaged over the life of the program [1].
In the near term, the Government expected about $6 billion to be invested in Australia's industrial capability and workforce over four years. Of that, about $2 billion was expected in South Australia and a further $1 billion in Western Australia [1].
On jobs, the release estimated around 20,000 direct jobs over the next 30 years [1].
Where the money goes
The spending pays for the Virginia-class submarines from the US, subject to Congressional approval. It also covers designing and building SSN-AUKUS in Australia, and the bases, shipyards, workforce and nuclear-safety regulation needed to run them [2]. The submarine timeline shows when each stage is due.
These are the figures announced in March 2023. They are general information, not financial advice. For investment angles, see AUKUS Investor.