In 1998 the Commonwealth Government established the Australian Industry & Defence Network. The Commonwealth Government nominated AIDN as the peak organisation to represent defence-related SMEs with the Department of Defence, the Defence Export Council and the Department of Industry.
State and Territory branches of AIDN were established. In the ACT, a branch was formed in August 1998, called Australian Industry Defence Network – ACT (AIDN-ACT) Incorporated (“the former association”). In early 2002, the former association decided to dissolve itself and have its members transferred to another business association.
In March 2002 the Australian Industry & Defence Network Incorporated (“AIDN-NATIONAL”) approached the ACT & Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry (“the Chamber”) seeking the Chamber’s assistance in re-establishing AIDN in the ACT. The Chamber agreed to assist AIDN, and believes that the Chamber’s much larger membership, staffing, networks and its strong relationship with ACT Government will all benefit AIDN. As a result, on 2 April 2002 the Australian Industry & Defence Network (Canberra) Incorporated (“the new Association”) was formed. The new Association has been appointed as AIDN-CANBERRA by AIDN-NATIONAL.
Defence business is an important part of the ACT business community. The Chamber already has a close relationship with the Defence industry through its existing membership base and as sole representative in the ACT of Austrade’s Export Access and TradeStart programs.
AIDN-CANBERRA is affiliated with the ACT & Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is (together with the other State/Territory Chambers) a foundation member of the Australia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI). These links bring access to the international and national Chamber movement, including the International Chamber of Commerce, the Confederation of Asian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Multicultural Business Chamber of Australia Limited and Austrade. They bring access to overseas delegations and international trade inquiries.
Benefits of membership include; information on defence business opportunities, networking, access to government and the diplomatic corps. Chamber members receive a six month complimentary AIDN membership.
Further information about AIDN can be found on the AIDN website http://www.aidn.com.au/ |
