Content Warning: discussions of genocide

As construction continues on the University of Melbourne’s long-awaited Fishermans Bend campus, set to open in 2026, the project is being hailed as a milestone for engineering, design, and innovation. But behind the slick renders and rhetoric of ‘interdisciplinary collaboration’ lies a more complex story, one that touches not only on urban renewal, but on the ethics of war, technology, and academic complicity.

Fishermans Bend, directly southwest of Melbourne’s CBD, is Australia’s largest urban renewal project, slated to house 80,000 residents by 2050. At its heart lies a national security corridor: the University’s new $2 billion Engineering and Design campus, emerging as a nexus for defence industry collaboration, alongside major players including Boeing, BAE Systems, Siemens, and the Defence Science and Technology Group. The University, through the Defence Science Institute–a joint venture with state and federal government–has positioned itself as a key contributor to Australia’s defence ambitions, especially under AUKUS Pillar II.

Documents show that Melbourne has marketed its expertise in submarine propulsion, electronic warfare, and autonomous systems, and that it is actively tailoring degrees to meet the specific AUKUS needs.

This dual-use research has prompted growing discomfort. As AI algorithms designed for maritime surveillance and nuclear submarines become tangible AUKUS deliverables, and ‘‘nuclear-aware’ engineers and scientists’ become a Unimelb target, the line between academic innovation and military escalation grows blurrier.

Whose Campus Is It, Anyway?

The defence focus of Fishermans Bend has drawn criticism from student groups, particularly in the wake of the ongoing war in Gaza. In 2024, students disrupted a University-hosted Boeing event on women in STEM, accusing the institution of jargonising its involvement in weapons development to and downplay its complicity in the deaths of Gazans.

Both BAE Systems and Boeing are part of the supply chain of weapons used in Gaza. Students allege that the University is contributing to genocide.

These protests reflect growing calls for transparency and divestment from weapons companies across the tertiary sector. The University of Melbourne has yet to release a full list of its defence contracts.

Critics argue the University’s military alignment fails to represent student values and interests. While the campus is being sold as an ‘innovation precinct,’ much of that innovation is geared toward military applications. 

The University maintains that it does not engage in direct weapons manufacturing, but rather supports research with ‘national interest’ outcomes. Yet as Fishermans Bend nears completion, the question endures: what kind of future is being built, and who gets to shape it?