In February 1982 the new submarine project gathered momentum when a project office was set up, headed by Captain Graham White, with the original staff consisting of three experienced submarine officers, Commanders Ian Noble, Rod Fayle and Tony Carter. Over the next few years the project office was joined by an assortment of submariners, engineers, naval architects and others, some of whom – like Greg Stuart, Mark Gairey, John Batten, David Elliston and Andy Millar – stayed with the project for many years. As navy personnel came and went on their short rotations and the contractors' staff was almost as fluid, the project office provided essential continuity for the project. The project office was the largest repository of knowledge about the project and the technical staff made an enormous contribution to its success.

Graham White had been a flight deck engineer on HMAS Melbourne and volunteered for the submarine service when he saw the carrier successfully attacked by a British submarine while on exercises in the South China Sea. As with others of his generation, he trained in the United Kingdom and served on British submarines and as standby engineer during the construction of Australia's fourth Oberon. He returned to Australia for the management of the Fremantle patrol boat project and the last two Oberons. In late 1981 he was appointed first project director for the new submarine project.