International Development policy

Australia's international development policy, sets the long-term direction for Australia's development program.

Profound challenges continue to reshape our world, testing our collective resolve. The policy, released in August 2023, is centred on listening, respect and genuine partnership. It guides how Australia's development program supports a peaceful, stable, and prosperous future for Australia and our region – ensuring it is fit for these complex times.

2024–25 Budget highlights

• In 2024–25 the Australian Government will provide $4.96 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA).
• The 2024–25 Budget builds on the $1.7 billion in new funding provided in the October 2022–23 and 2023–24 Budgets and commitment to index the ODA base budget at 2.5 per cent per year over the longer term.
• This is the first full budget since the release of Australia’s International Development Policy – the first long term development policy in a decade, and the 2024–25 Budget will support the implementation of the Policy, concentrating resources on needs and priorities that matter most to our partners and our region.

For detailed ODA budget information see the 2024-25 Official Development Assistance Budget Summary.

Development priorities

Pacific

Australia's priority is to ensure the Blue Pacific remains peaceful, stable and prosperous – equipped to respond to the challenges of our time.

In 2024–25, we supported the region meet to climate resilience and mitigation objectives, expanding and improving the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM) and reducing fiscal distress in partner countries to further improve fiscal resilience and enable the delivery of critical services.

Australia will continue to invest in Pacific partner country needs and priorities across climate change, infrastructure, education, gender equality, health and connectivity. Critically, we are ensuring more of our investments empower women and girls, and people with a disability, to participate more fully in social, political and economic life.

Southeast Asia

Australia is deepening engagement with Southeast Asia. We are listening to the region’s perspectives and building our partnerships to tackle shared challenges – including climate change, inclusive and sustainable growth, gender equality, disability and social inclusion and fostering resilient communities. 

In 2024–25, Australia’s $1.3 billion ODA budget to the region will be guided by eight new whole-of-government country and regional Southeast Asia Development Partnership Plans. We are committed to a high quality development program that makes a real difference and meets the priorities of our partners. We are assisting partners tackle some of our most pressing regional priorities – climate change and the clean energy transition, gender equality, health, rapid digitalisation, knowledge and skills development, and infrastructure.

Under the development policy, Australia has established a Southeast Asia Government-to-Government Partnerships program and supported the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We worked with ASEAN to develop its Strategy on Carbon Neutrality, and we continue to support our region's digitalisation through new technical assistance partnerships and bolstered environmental resilience and cooperation on water, energy, and climate across Southeast Asia.

Learn more about Australia’s development cooperation in Southeast Asia.

Building Resilience

Climate Action & Climate Financing

Australia recognises the urgency and far-reaching implications of the climate crisis and is committed to accelerating the transition towards net-zero emissions. We are also working harder at home and with global partners to help communities prepare for and adapt to climate and disaster-related risks.

We have strengthened our previous $2 billion climate finance commitment and expect to deliver $3 billion in climate finance between 2020–25, largely through existing official development assistance.

We are deploying more innovative climate financing mechanisms and investing in the climate-resilient infrastructure that regional economies need to prepare for – and mitigate against – worsening climate impacts.

Through Partnerships for Infrastructure and the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, Australia is investing in a number of climate and clean energy infrastructure priorities for our region.

We will also work internationally to address the widening climate financing gap, particularly in our region, to influence the alignment of funding with decarbonisation priorities and adaptation needs.

Humanitarian

Australia’s humanitarian action aims to save lives, alleviate suffering and build resilience, with a focus on upholding human rights and human dignity. 

Launched in October 2024, Australia’s Humanitarian Policy outlines how Australia harnesses its resources and expertise to better prepare for and respond to humanitarian crises, now and in the future.

Australia will focus on three priorities:

1. we will build readiness and preparedness, anticipating shocks before they occur and working with our partners to lessen their impact
2. we will respond to crises and disasters, delivering support that meets the needs of crisis-affected populations and protects the most at risk, and
3. we will reinforce the international humanitarian system, working to take practical steps to reinforce adherence to international humanitarian law. 

Expanding opportunities for everyone

Gender equality, disability equity and social inclusion are at the centre of Australia's development program.

ODA investments valued at $3 million and above must have a gender equality objective. We have a target that 80 per cent of investments effectively address gender equality in implementation.

Australia has also established a landmark $3.5 million Inclusion and Equality Fund to support, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) organisations to catalyse change in their communities.

To help make the region more secure and inclusive, we are developing a new International Gender Equality Strategy, a dedicated LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Engagement Strategy and a new Disability Equity and Rights Strategy.

Our performance

The Australian Government is committed to delivering a high quality, effective development program – one that responds to partner needs, achieves results, and is informed by robust monitoring, evaluation and learning.

We foster a strong performance-based culture that generates robust data on performance, drives improvement and promotes accountability. Our performance culture is underpinned by effective senior leadership and governance, and strengthened monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches that use evidence to learn and adapt.

Our performance and delivery framework helps to drive reform and improve how we: plan, design, deliver and communicate our results; provide timely and transparent information on investments and performance; and deliver accountability to the Australian Parliament and public.

The framework has four main elements:

• A strengthened approach to Country and Regional Development Partnership Plans to deepen our consultation with partners, enhance oversight and set out shared objectives, expected outcomes, and approaches to evaluation and learning
• An expanded and more ambitious set of performance indicators which include targets to drive key reforms under a three-tier framework that tracks our regional context, what we do and how our work aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Strategic Partnership Agreements with multilateral organisations
• Investment-level monitoring and evaluation systems.

Performance and delivery framework

The policy is underpinned by a robust performance and delivery framework that drives key reforms and improve the transparency and accountability of our development program.

Development Finance Review

Australia's International Development Policy has been informed by the Development Finance Review.

The Review considered how financing instruments can maximise the impact of our support to help countries in our region achieve their development goals, including climate change and gender equality.

The Government accepts all eight recommendations from the review.

Australia is scaling up existing development finance mechanisms and working more with philanthropic organisations and impact investors to advance our shared interests. The Government is strengthening our focus on gender equality and increasing transparency of Australia's development finance.

Development investments

Australia's development investments help make us stronger and more influential in the world. The comprehensive suite of measures linked to Australia's ODA significantly bolster the nation's competitiveness, security and relationships at a time of global uncertainty.

Australia provides detailed information on the objectives, results and impacts of our ODA investments. For more information read DFAT's Transparency Statement and access investment-level information in AusDevPortal.

Development transparency

Enhanced transparency is essential for a more effective, accountable and responsive development program driving visibility, awareness and confidence in Australia’s development assistance efforts.

Australia is improving transparency and accountability across the international development program by making our Official Development Assistance (ODA) investment data more accessible than ever before through AusDevPortal and resuming reporting to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI).

AusDevPortal includes key information such as project descriptions, expenditure, geographic locations, and performance results. It also offers access to essential documentation, such as evaluation and design reports.

Australia resumed annual reporting to IATI with project level information available through the IATI tools and resources. Reporting recommenced with the financial year 2022-23 dataset, with future financial years available in the first half of the following year.

Further resources:

• International Development Policy
• Performance and delivery framework
• AusDevPortal
• International Development policy joint media release
• Minister Wong Gender Equality Symposium speech
• National Press Club Address, Australian interests in a regional balance of power
• Address to the Australian Institute for International Affairs
• ACFID National Virtual Conference
• Making Australia stronger and more influential in a contested world
• Speech to the Pacific Way Conference, Papeete, French Polynesia
• Speech to the CSIS Global Development Forum, Washington DC
• National Statement to the UN General Assembly, New York