The federal government is hopeful a new contractor and an extra $1.2 billion will get the Air Warfare Destroyer project back on track.
An audit of the major Defence project shows the cost has blown out to $9 billion.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the extra money will have to come at the expense of other Defence acquisitions.
"The Air Warfare Destroyer project was in very bad shape when we came into government, which is why we initiated an independent review into the project," Senator Cormann said.
The first ship was due to be delivered in December 2014 but is now scheduled for June 2017.
The second will come online in September 2018 and the third in March 2020.
A tender will be released next week for either a managing contractor to work with government shipbuilder ASC for the remainder of the AWD build, or an "enhanced partnership".
The project is now managed by the AWD Alliance - a consortium involving the Defence Materiel Organisation, ASC and Raytheon Australia.
Senator Cormann said the appointment of US shipbuilding expert Mark Lamarre as interim chief executive of ASC Shipbuilding had made a difference to the project.
The government is working on a broader naval shipbuilding plan to be released later this year, to shore up jobs and investment in the industry.
The first ship HMAS Hobart will be floated in Adelaide on Saturday - an important milestone in the project's completion.
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