It asserted that no country had the capacity or motivation, to sustain high level military operations against Australia, though Australia would still be vulnerable to harassment across its coastline and sea approaches.
The paper re-affirmed self-reliance and adopted the strategy of defence in depth, as opposed to the publicly unpopular forward defence strategy which saw Australia intervene in the Vietnam War.
The paper restated the importance of Australia's alliance with the United States and declared Australia's area of military interest to include much of Oceania and South East Asia.
The paper did not announce any new capability projects or any detailed expenditure proposal.
However, it did emphasise the need to acquire modern technology such as satellite communications and airborne early warning aircraft.