Australia’s Defence logistics network is set to undergo its largest structural overhaul in more than a decade, following the award of a $1.5 billion national contract to Toll Remote Logistics Proprietary Limited.
The 10-year Defence Theatre Logistics (DTL) agreement will see Toll assume responsibility for warehousing, national distribution and retail logistics across the Australian Defence Force, consolidating two long-running contracts previously held by Linfox and Ventia into a single, integrated national model.
The move reflects a broader shift in Defence’s logistics strategy under the 2024 National Defence Strategy, which places renewed emphasis on resilience, readiness and the ability to sustain prolonged operations across Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
Steve Roughsedge, Senior Vice President of Theatre Supply Chain at Toll Group, says the DTL contract gives Defence a single logistics partner responsible for warehousing and distribution across the Defence Joint Logistics Network, connecting Joint Logistics Units with ADF personnel who require access to equipment and storage.
“The one program combines two previous contracts that split the delivery of retail services (localised storage and delivery of goods) and the warehousing and distribution services, which addressed strategic storage and distribution across the broader network,” he says.
“Additionally, this new program includes an ability for the ADF to ask Toll to provide personnel, equipment and facilities to support operational contingencies, such as deployments to support exercises, humanitarian relief of other operations.”
A national logistics backbone
Under the new arrangement, Toll will manage more than 50 Defence sites and locations across Australia, supported by a national distribution network linking major bases, support facilities and operational units.
The contract includes responsibility for warehousing and storage at 18 primary sites and 38 support warehouses, covering the full range of Defence inventory management tasks. These include receiving, storing, inspecting, transferring and issuing equipment and supplies, ranging from routine consumables to vehicles and oversized assets.
In practical terms, the DTL contract places Toll at the centre of the Defence supply chain, responsible for ensuring the right equipment is available in the right place, at the right time, whether for day-to-day operations, major exercises or contingency deployments.
Retail services will also be provided at selected Defence locations, enabling ADF members to order, transact and collect items locally rather than relying on centralised procurement and long lead-time delivery. The model is designed to reduce delays, improve service levels and give units greater autonomy in managing their operational requirements.
“Toll is arguably the largest provider of core logistics services in Australia, and has built a vast network of logistics capabilities across this terrain for more than 130 years,” Steve says.
“To support our commercial customers Toll’s existing network contains more than 14,000 personnel across more than 300 sites, 3m+ square metres of warehousing, more than 3,000 trucks and tens of thousands of pieces of MHE, and so the scale and scope of the Defence requirement is something Toll work with every day.”
Why Toll?
Toll was selected following a traditional Request for Tender process that allowed Defence to assess best-of-breed logistics providers operating in the current market. Steve says the outcome reflected a combination of operational effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility, supported by Toll’s breadth of capability across the commercial logistics sector and its extensive experience supporting Defence across a wide range of logistics services.
“Strategically, the faith demonstrated by the ADF in contracting with Toll provides broad confirmation of the reliability, effectiveness and agility that Toll can deliver to any large-scale consumer of such services,” Steve says. “It firmly announces the demonstrated value Toll can bring to the Defence sector, anywhere within our region.”
Steve says the program also builds on Toll’s long history of supporting ADF operations, including decades of involvement across multiple areas of the Defence logistics spectrum and direct in-country support during regional operations such as East Timor and the Solomon Islands. He adds that innovations developed and delivered under the DTL program will expand Toll’s internal capabilities while broadening its Defence sector footprint.
The transition to the new operating model will be delivered through a phased approach, allowing sites, systems and personnel to be progressively migrated while maintaining continuity of service across the network. During the transition, Defence acknowledged the contribution of incumbent providers.
“I wish to thank Linfox and Ventia, as the transitioning service providers, for the difference they have made to Defence’s logistics system and their continued support to Defence,” Steve says.
Delivering the program will require a workforce uplift, with around 800 additional personnel expected to join Toll nationally across warehousing, inventory management, transport, retail operations and network coordination. Steve says the expanded workforce is critical to supporting the scale, geographic reach and operational tempo of the program.
“Across the network we are pulling together a team heavily invested in the mission and playing their part every day to keep the wheels of Defence turning,” he says.
Steve explains that the DTL contract reflects a broader shift in Defence thinking, with logistics increasingly recognised as a strategic enabler rather than a back-office function.
“By centralising logistics delivery under a single national contract, the model is intended to improve coordination, visibility and responsiveness across Defence’s supply chain, ensuring it can support both routine readiness and higher-intensity operations without becoming a limiting factor,” he says.
According to Steve, transitioning to the DTL model is one of the most demanding elements of the program, as it involves migrating a live national logistics network while sustaining Defence operations. Despite the long-term nature of the contract, the handover from existing arrangements is being carefully phased to ensure continuity and minimise risk.
“There is nothing trivial about engaging hundreds of new staff members over such a geographic spread,” Steve says. “particularly when combined with the integration of Defence IT environments, new systems such as the ADF ERP, and the establishment of large volumes of new equipment including vehicles and delivery assets.”
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