3.1 Defence Major Projects are large and complex. They are high cost and generally very technical procurements which, more often than not, are delivered over a long time period by domestic and/or overseas suppliers. These characteristics pose significant challenges to the effective governance of these projects and highlight the importance of applying to them a robust governance framework. Such a framework has the capacity to enhance accountability and transparency, and support consistent assessment of the progress of Major Projects across the whole portfolio of projects.