Timor-Leste
May 2024
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Estimated Australian ODA: 2024-25: $123.3m
Gross National Income Per Capita: US1,980 (2022)
Population: 1.3m (2022)
| Australian ODA | 2022-23 Actual ($m)* | 2023-24 Budget Estimate ($m)* | 2024-25 Budget Estimate ($m)* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country Programs | 77.4 | 79.1 | 82.8 |
| Regional | 40.0 | 17.9 | 19.9 |
| Global | 19.7 | 17.3 | 19.9 |
| Other Government Departments | 0.4 | 3.7 | 0.8 |
| Total ODA to Timor-Leste | 137.6 | 118.0 | 12.3 |
*Due to rounding, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items in totals.
Australia and Timor-Leste are close neighbours and friends that share deep and enduring ties.
Australia has been at the forefront of international support for Timor-Leste since independence in 2002 and remains Timor-Leste’s largest development and security partner. We have a strong interest in Timor-Leste’s future prosperity, and we continue to review and adapt our assistance to support Timor-Leste’s development priorities.
Strategic direction
Australia’s development assistance contributes to the shared goal of a resilient, prosperous and secure nation. This is consistent with Timor-Leste’s Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 and the global Sustainable Development Goals.
Australia is complementing existing long-term partnerships with increased investment in Timor-Leste’s economic resilience through infrastructure projects such as the submarine fibre-optic cable. We are listening to, and delivering on, Timor-Leste’s priorities, including by expanding support for participants in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN and WTO, biosecurity and humanitarian partnerships, and the Blue economy.
Program highlights
- Since 2012, more than 11,000 Timorese workers have participated in Australian labour mobility programs, contributing skills and remittances to Timor-Leste's economy.
- Supporting Timor-Leste's rabies response, including providing human and animal vaccines and treatments, training for healthcare and veterinary workers, and awareness campaigns.
- Strengthening food security through improved seed storage technology, allowing longer storage and better protection from pests and disease.
- Providing more than 15,500 legal, medical, psychosocial and referral services to women and children experiencing violence in 2023.
- Improving production, processing and marketing of premium coffee, and helping coffee farmers address climate change impacts.
- Australia was Timor-Leste's primary partner in its response to, and recovery from, COVID19 and following the severe flooding experienced after Cyclone Seroja in April 2021.
