Aukus costs balloon with more cash and staff for submarine agency amid ongoing search for nuclear waste dump

Australia’s 2026 federal budget ramps up spending on the AUKUS submarine program, boosting the Australian Submarine Agency’s resourcing to $512m next year (from $385m) and increasing staff from ~883 to 1,209. Four‑year funding for the agency rises from $1.7bn to $2.13bn (a $431m uplift); the peak annual ASA budget is now $641m in 2028‑29. The budget also allocates $11.9m over two years for radioactive waste planning. Longer‑term estimates see AUKUS costing Australia about $368bn into the 2050s, including ~$4.6bn earmarked for each of the US and UK to boost shipbuilding. Market implications for AUDUSD are mixed: near‑term fiscal stimulus via higher defence spending could lend some support to the AUD, but the scale, timing risks and uncertain delivery of submarines add fiscal and political uncertainty that could weigh on risk sentiment and the currency over the medium term.