2024-25 bilateral allocation [budget estimate]

$29.0 million

2024-25 total Australian ODA [budget estimate]

$51.8 million

2023-24 total Australian ODA [actual]

$77.7 million

2022-23 total Australian ODA [actual]

$60.3 million

Australia's partnership with Samoa is grounded in shared values, respect and mutual benefit. Guided by the Bilateral Partnership Arrangement – O le Fala Folasia I lo ta Va (The Map That Guides Us) - signed by our respective Prime Ministers in March 2023, our partnership encompasses diplomatic, economic, security and development cooperation, and celebrates the interconnectedness of our peoples and cultures based on a long history of personal, community and institutional ties. As Pacific Islands Forum members, Australia and Samoa recognise that our respective national interests are served by a strong and enduring bilateral partnership and a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Pacific.

Australia's development partnership with Samoa has solid foundations, built on a long history of people to people and institutional links and over fifty years of diplomatic engagement. Australia is Samoa's largest donor, with our enduring commitment to Samoa's development reflected in the establishment of long-term locally led programs designed to directly respond to Samoa's priorities. Australia, New Zealand and Pacific countries are uniquely placed to share expertise and resources with Samoa, benefiting from our decades of experience, comparable systems of government and democratic institutions, cultural ties and growing Samoan diaspora, deep linkages through education and training, academic institutions and geographic proximity. Australia and New Zealand consult closely on development programming to ensure complementarity. We share interests that are important to our region, and place great value in strengthening the regional institutions that support these. Long standing cooperation in policing and maritime security contributes to an enduring security partnership built on trust and transparency.

Joint Objectives of the Australia – Samoa Development Partnership

The overarching goal for the Australia-Samoa development partnership is a prosperous, resilient and stable Samoa.

Our four development partnership objectives reflect the principles and priorities agreed to by Australia and Samoa, as set out in the Australia-Samoa Bilateral Partnership Arrangement, and support the priorities presented in the Pathway for the Development of Samoa. They also endeavour to translate shared regional priorities, as articulated in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, into bilateral actions. Several priorities cut across these objectives, including GEDSI, climate change and locally-led development.

Objective 1: Supporting inclusive and accountable governance and sustainable economic growth

Objective 1 commits Australia to working in partnership with the Government of Samoa to strengthen economic and democratic governance institutions to improve accountability, ensure fiscal resilience, and promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth; including through infrastructure support.

Objective 2: Improving health, education, gender equality and social outcomes for all Samoans

Objective 2 commits Australia to working in partnership with Government of Samoa and local civil society organisations to advance human development and support all Samoans to have long, healthy and fulfilling lives. We approach this through programming that targets improved health, education, gender equality and social outcomes for all, with a focus on vulnerable groups including women, people with disability and young people

Objective 3: Enhancing national resilience by strengthening climate, disaster and security cooperation across our partnership

Objective 3 commits Australia to working in partnership with the Government of Samoa to enhance national resilience, and support a safe and secure environment and society for all Samoans. Our partnerships under this objective span climate change, the environment, disaster preparedness and humanitarian assistance, policing, defence cooperation, cyber security and border management. Under this objective we aim to contribute to Samoa's national resilience and support the delivery of regional climate and security commitments.

Objective 4 : Creating inclusive opportunities for Samoans, locally and through linkages with Australia

Objective 4 commits Australia to working in partnership with the Government of Samoa to provide opportunities for individuals that benefit the individuals themselves, as well as their families, communities, and Samoa more broadly. Our work under this objective also aims to ensure that individuals are equipped with skills and capabilities to maximise the benefits of such opportunities, aligned with the workforce needs identified by Samoa.

Climate Change

With 70 per cent of the population living in low-lying coastal areas and over 90 per cent of households engaging with agriculture and fisheries, most Samoan people are at high risk of being significantly affected by climate change. Key climate impacts will include forced relocation of communities and infrastructure, rising sea levels, increased food and water insecurity, reduced agricultural productivity, negative impacts on human health, increased poverty and further marginalisation of  vulnerable groups.

Samoa has a strong policy framework for climate and disaster management, although implementation capacity and institutional coordination remain a challenge. Samoa's Second Nationally Determined Contribution (2021) outlines Samoa's ambitions to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 26 per cent by 2030 (compared to 2007 levels), with a focus on energy, waste and agriculture – including a target to achieve 70 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2031. Samoa's National Adaptation Programme of Action (published in 2005 and set to be updated in 2024) prioritises urgent needs in relation to water resources, reforestation and education and awareness raising.

Australia's current climate and environment support to Samoa comprises activities facilitated through Pacific regional programs, integration work across our bilateral partnership investments to mainstream climate considerations, and technical assistance through partnerships with Australian agencies. This support focuses on three key areas: technical assistance and capacity development, community resilience, and climate-smart infrastructure. Over the lift of this DPP, we will continue maximise opportunities to mainstream climate considerations in our education, health, community, and governance programming, and to leverage regional resourcing (including through the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)) to support Samoa's international climate advocacy, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Samoa Meteorological Service. We commit to exploring further opportunities for climate partnership through flexible climate finance, investments in renewables and support for community led adaptation efforts, and will be led by Samoa's priorities.

Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion

Samoa is committed to gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) and has a strong foundation of national policies and strategies. Samoa ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and Girls in 1992 without reservations, the first Pacific Island country to do so. Samoa's national policy document, the National Policy on Gender Equality and Rights of Women and Girls 2021-31, identifies seven priority areas: economic empowerment; health; education; leadership and decision making; access to law and justice; infrastructure and the environment. Samoa ratified the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2016. Its National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2021-2031 sets out priority programs and activities on disability equity and inclusion. The policy identifies the following as priorities: increased awareness about rights and needs, enhanced independent living and economic development, strengthened provision of support, health services and assistive devices, improved inclusive education, strengthened access to the built environment and a strengthened enabling environment.

Although Samoa has made substantial progress on GEDSI rights and equity in recent years, challenges remain. Family and gender-based violence, limited sexual and reproductive rights and service access, gendered differences in education outcomes, inequity in economic participation, and women's constrained access to leadership roles in national politics and community governance structures remain barriers to gender equality. For people with disability, key challenges to achieving equity include limited access to inclusive education, employment opportunities and essential services as well as challenges in the built environment; each of these is exacerbated by a lack of sustainable funding to organisations for people with disability. Inclusion of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions are not currently recognized in national statistics and have limited access to development resourcing. These communities also face challenges such as higher rates of family, gender-based and sexual violence, limited access to appropriate healthcare and mental health services, and harmful stigma and community attitudes. In line with Australia's commitments on gender equality and disability equity and rights, we will continue our twin-track approach to supporting GEDSI in Samoa. We will use targeted programming to respond to critical issues and also deliberately mainstream to ensure that we are minimising harm and maximising opportunities across the breadth of our partnership. Building on our strong history of cooperation on sexual and reproductive rights and health, gender-based violence and women's economic empowerment, we commit to exploring further opportunities for partnership on women's leadership, disability equity and inclusion, and the role of civil society organisations in promoting GEDSI.