[2] The tender was awarded in August 1994 to Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, which proposed a modified Gaeta-class minehunter.

[4] For minehunting operations, Hawkesbury uses three 120 horsepower (89 kW) Riva Calzoni azimuth thrusters to provide a maximum speed of 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph): two are located at the stern, while the third is sited behind the variable-depth sonar.

[5] To prevent damage if a mine is detonated nearby, the ships were built with a glass-reinforced plastic, moulded in a single monocoque skin with no ribs or framework.

[4] Hawkesbury was built by Australian Defence Industries in Newcastle, New South Wales, launched on 24 April 1998, and commissioned into the RAN on 12 February 2000.

[citation needed] By October 2011, Hawkesbury and sister ship HMAS Norman had been placed into reserve, and the Australian Department of Defence predicted that it would take five years to bring both back to operational status and train personnel to run the vessels.[9].