Australia to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2033

Sailors stand on board HMAS Canberra, facing the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. - Photo: Reuters

SYDNEY: Australia on Wednesday (April 15) said it would raise defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product by 2033 from about 2% currently, in response to the most "complex and threatening" circumstances since World War Two.

The expansion would be achieved through an additional A$14 billion ($10 billion) in expenditure over four years and A$53 billion over the next decade, the government said.