Established by the Australian Government in 1912 as the Lithgow Small Arms Factory to ease reliance on the British for the supply of defence materials, it is currently owned by Thales Australia.

Opened on 8 June 1912, the factory initially manufactured SMLE III rifles (and Pattern 1907 bayonets) for the Australian military during World War I.

[1] The factory was first "corporatised" as Australian Defence Industries by the Hawke government, then later sold in 2006.

ADI Lithgow is now owned by Thales Australia and continues to manufacture the F88 Austeyr rifle and F89 Minimi currently used by the Australian military.

[2] In 2019, the museum was placed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register which lists influential collections and documents considered key to Australia's history.