Media Release: Clayton Utz acts for Department of Defence on landmark $1bn+ contract with Telstra Corporation

Sydney, 10 November 2021: A multi-disciplinary Clayton Utz team has advised the Australian Commonwealth Department of Defence (Defence) on a landmark $1 billion contract with Telstra for the continued delivery to Defence of leading-edge technology and critical network and telecommunications services. The renewed contract was announced to the market on 3 November 2021 and is reported to be the largest ever customer contract of its kind signed by Telstra's Enterprise division.

The contract runs for at least the next five years and will deliver significantly increased wireless coverage through a dedicated Wi-Fi 6 rollout program and the introduction of 5G mobile network capability (where available) for Defence personnel.  It will also involve the introduction of full SDWAN and SDN capabilities to provide more flexible, self-healing and predictive network capabilities.

Clayton Utz partner Ken Saurajen and senior associate Monique Azzopardi led our team, which was drawn from our Technology and Public Sector practices and included Canberra-based partner Chris Davis, lawyer Shirley Chung and other team members working seamlessly across our Sydney and Canberra offices.

In its statement to the ASX, Telstra noted the contract would create significant opportunities for local industry, particularly small and medium enterprises and Indigenous companies.

Lead partner Ken Saurajen observed that our combined team was hugely proud to have played an important role in supporting Defence in the contract design, development and negotiation activities that underpinned the contract's successful renewal:

"It was our privilege to advise the Department of Defence, a longstanding and key client of our firm, on a transaction of such national and industry significance. It is yet another example of the exceptional talents of our lawyers and our ability to collaborate seamlessly across offices and practice groups to intelligently manage and deliver projects of the highest criticality.  It is engagements such as these that consolidate Clayton Utz's now incontestable track record as the true firm of choice for transactions of unprecedented scale and strategic importance, across both private and public sectors."