About Nova Systems
Nova Systems is a 100% Australian owned and controlled engineering services and technology solutions company.
Founded by two veterans – Jim Whalley and Peter Nikoloff – in 1999 in Adelaide, South Australia, the company now employs more than 1000 people globally in strategically located offices in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore and Norway.
The company’s vision is to solve the complex challenges that really matter to our clients; operating across five core markets – Defence, Essential Services, Government, Special Missions and Commercial Aerospace.
Nova Systems is a trusted partner to the Australian Defence Force and has supported almost every major Defence project for the past two decades.
Australia’s trusted T&E partner
Nova Systems is renowned for its leading Test and Evaluation services. The capability of Test and Evaluation (T&E), Certification and Systems Assurance is critical to supporting Australia’s defences forces. The capability is the rigorous process undertaken to ensure any platforms, systems or systems-of-systems – whether it be a submarine, a tank, a frigate or combined arms effect – are safe, reliable and fit-for-purpose.
Every platform across all domains – land, maritime, air, space and cyber – must be tested and assured from concept all the way to disposal – and this is Nova Systems’ bread and butter.
Sovereign skills training
Nova Systems delivers a range of sovereign, in-country training programs to Australian technical professionals covering areas including T&E of complex systems, model-based systems engineering and communications and logistics.
As a registered training organisation (RTO), Nova Systems delivers the nationally recognised Certificate IV in T&E and Diploma of T&E, providing practitioners with the knowledge and skills required to support Australia’s sovereign defence capability.
Nova Systems has delivered these courses to thousands of professionals across the defence industry, including the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force.
T&E Centre of Excellence (CoE)
As a sovereign leader in T&E, Nova Systems is establishing an Australian-first T&E Centre of Excellence – a central hub supporting sovereign defence capability, cutting-edge research, digital technologies, training and ideas.
The national initiative brings together Defence, industry and academia to deliver mission engineering expertise, synthetic methods for joint-force T&E and mission assurance, as well as advanced T&E practitioner training focusing on emerging technology such as artificial intelligence.
The Nova Systems T&E CoE supports the delivery of an Australian T&E capability to the Australian Defence Force, resulting in the delivery of safe, fit-for purpose capability for our defence personnel to deliver operational outcomes now and for future generations.
Launching into Space
It was a natural progression, from its aerospace roots, for Nova Systems to launch into the multi-billion dollar space industry.
To support this growth, the company opened the Nova Systems’ Space Precinct in Peterborough, South Australia, in 2021. The 21-hectare site supports several international space and technology companies.
In an Australian-first, Nova Systems has also teamed up with Curtin University to prototype a new Space Domain Awareness technology. The passive array radar sensor can locate and track satellites and space junk orbiting Earth – a huge step in Australian innovation to collect big data from space. Australia depends on space for communications, navigation, and information from its satellites, so it’s imperative to be aware of what is above us and could pose a threat.
Nova Systems has a strong background in the space sector including supporting the delivery of complex space and satellite communication programs and engineering and advisory services such as mission analysis, space domain awareness, launch safety and regulatory support and training.
Nova By Numbers
• 20+ years contributing to every major Australian Defence project of strategic significance
• Veteran owned and founded
• 100% Australian owned and controlled
• 1,100 sovereign smarts located across Australia
• $400m injected and reinvested into the Australian economy*
• 2,700 Australian technical professionals graduated through our specialist training programs
*FY2021-22
