The $368-billion defence project to build and operate nuclear-powered submarines in Australia over the next 30 years will ignite a building boom but experts warn there are still major housing and workforce challenges to overcome. 

One of the most immediate impacts will be felt in Western Australia’s Rockingham, 47km south of Perth, where $8 billion in upgrades to HMAS Stirling, Australia’s largest naval base, are already under way.

These upgrades, driven by the AUKUS agreement—a trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the US to bolster defence capabilities in the Indo-Pacific—are fuelling major development opportunities but also exposing significant challenges in housing supply and workforce capacity.