Industry welcomes Defence report

A recommendation inviting the TCF sector to have a greater say in how the Australian Defence Force (ADF) sources its combat clothing has been welcomed by the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA).
The recommendation was one of 29 included in a ministerial report by a special taskforce set up to undertake a major review of the way ADF buys its clothing following complaints about its procurement system.
The report, released late last month, found high levels of dissatisfaction by most suppliers regarding the performance of the ADF's clothing group. The review team - which interviewed up to eight TCF representatives including Australian Defence Apparel, Bruck Trading, Peronal Protective Clothing as well as TFIA representatives - found relationships between suppliers and the clothing group were poor.
The report noted companies found it difficult to do business namely because they felt they were not encouraged to build business relationships and due to hierarchy issues within the clothing group, found it difficult to find people empowered to make decisions or willing to do so for "fear of failure".
The report recommended a number of initiatives to help address the shortcomings, including an overhaul of the size and organisational shape of the clothing group, an update of formal clothing specification and a review of existing contracts to ensure proper practices had been completed.
It also recommended the establishment of a 'clothing governance executive group' to address "governance" issues with membership of the group to include representatives from the army, the land systems division and, where appropriate, an industry representative.
Speaking following the release of the findings, TFIA executive director Ashley Van Krieken said early indications suggested the review committee had taken on board the concerns raised by the suppliers.
He said the TFIA, which had also submitted a written report to the review panel, would be very interested in filing the position for an industry representative on the executive group.
"They do seem to have addressed many of the issues we raised and we would welcome the opportunity to offer more industry feedback as it is so important. At the end of the day you can make the best garment in the world but if it doesn't fit properly . . . it's not going to work."