Senate Inquiry - Management of Defence estate assets

The Senate’s Management of Defence Estate Assets inquiry and the release of its Interim Report on 16 September 2026. A copy is available below.
 

The Committee issued an interim report because the Senate extended the inquiry timeline twice, with the final report now due by 25 February 2027. This allows the Committee to publish preliminary findings while continuing hearings, site visits and analysis of the 193 submissions received — including those from RAACA (NSW) and the NSW Lancers Association.

The Interim Report strongly reinforces the concerns we raised about the proposed divestment of Lancer Barracks. The Committee found that the Defence Estate Audit’s divestment recommendations were not aligned with the Defence Strategic Review, which emphasised that foundational Defence estate — particularly in southern Australia — remains critical to capability. Evidence presented to the Committee highlighted that divesting Lancer Barracks would have direct negative impacts on Reserve readiness, recruiting, and retention. As we stressed in our submission, Reservists join units close to where they live and work and relocating capability from Parramatta to Holsworthy would impose 45–90 minute commutes each way. Historical experience from the 1990s relocation of 1/15 RNSWL squadrons from Kingswood to Holsworthy was cited repeatedly: experienced JNCOs and SNCOs were lost, recruitment collapsed, and capability took years to rebuild.

The Committee also recognised the heritage and community significance of Lancer Barracks — a site with over 206 years of continuous military occupation and 135 years of uninterrupted RAAC presence. Evidence from the NSW Lancers Memorial Museum made clear that its collection of more than 8,000 artefacts, including rare armoured vehicles, weapons, archives and specialist workshops, cannot be relocated without fragmentation, loss of capability and major security challenges. The Committee noted that divestment would sever the link between the Regiment, the Museum, volunteers and the broader RAAC community.

Several of the Committee’s recommendations directly support the concerns raised by RAACA(NSW) and the NSW Lancers Association. Recommendation 1 calls for an immediate halt to the mass divestment program until proper public consultation and legislative safeguards are in place. Recommendation 5 requires the Government to cease any action adversely impacting Cadets and Reserves and instead invest in existing facilities — explicitly addressing accessibility, participation, training opportunities, retention and recruitment. Recommendation 7 proposes new legislation to permanently protect Defence heritage sites, including parade grounds, memorials and museums. Recommendation 8 recommends giving Parliament the power to disallow any government decision to divest Defence estate assets of national significance or strategic importance.

Taken together, these findings and recommendations strongly validate the evidence provided by RAACA(NSW) and the NSW Lancers Association. They recognise that divesting Lancer Barracks would undermine Defence capability, Reserve and Cadet participation, heritage preservation and community value. We will continue to monitor developments closely and provide further updates as the inquiry progresses toward its final report in February 2027.

Following the appearance of the RAACA NSW representatives at the Senate Enquiry into the Management of Defence Estate Assets, the Association was asked to provide answers to Questions on Notice.  Our response is shown below.

RAACA NSW made the following submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Management of Defence Estate Assets.  The Association has specifically raised concerns in regard to the proposed divestment of Lancer Barracks and the adverse impacts to Army Reserve capability, ADF recruiting, support to Cadets and the loss of heritage of the RAAC.