Sypaq Fishermans Bend defence autonomy centre will create 280 jobs: Victorian government

Engineering firm Sypaq Systems will establish a new Defence Autonomy Centre of Excellence at Fishermans Bend, Melbourne.

According to a statement from the Victorian government, the new centre was assisted by a grant and would create “280 high value new jobs in the state over five years.” The amount of government support was not given.

“We are excited about our prospects in Victoria and our ability to grow valuable jobs for Victorian workers – the opportunities available in Fishermans Bend will allow us to foster collaboration with other innovative companies and academia,” said Sypaq’s founder and chairman George Vicino.

Sypaq was founded in 1992 and describes its core business as management and technology consulting, systems integration, and managed services. It acquired defence electronics design and manufacturing business Bellinger last year, and has offices at Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Adelaide’s Lot 14.

It specialises in defence, national security and information technology. One of its products, a mini drone, has “a diagonal span of 18cm, weighs 280 grams and has video and radio capacity that can be used for purposes including natural disaster response and monitoring of event crowds.”

Fishermans Bend is the country’s largest urban renewal project, covering 480 hectares, with the first stage  — the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct development — involving remediation work at the 32-hectare former General Motors Holden site. 

Siemens, Boeing and Leonardo have a presence in the suburb.

“The growing concentration of advanced manufacturing business and high-skilled jobs in Fishermans Bend will build its own momentum as the old GMH site is transformed into a global hub of manufacturing and design,” said minister for industry support Martin Pakula.

The recent state budget allocated $179.4 million to work at Fishermans Bend, which it said “will house the University of Melbourne’s School of Engineering from 2024 and the innovation precinct is forecast to be capable of supporting up to 30,000 STEM jobs by 2051.”

Subscribe to our free @AuManufacturing newsletter here.