Consistent with Timor-Leste's strong commitment to democracy and human rights Australia is focusing efforts to improve gender equality and disability equity through targeted stand-alone programs and including this objective within all major investments.

Australia supports implementation and monitoring of the Maubisse Declaration, the Government of Timor-Leste's primary policy framework for empowering rural women, including rural women with disability and supports the Government of Timor-Leste to implement the Disability National Action Plan. Our disability work will closely align with, but go beyond, our health and education support.

Nabilan: Ending Violence Against Women in Timor-Leste

$20.5 million (2022-2026)

Nabilan is DFAT's flagship Ending Violence Against Women and Children (EVAWC) program in Timor-Leste. Nabilan commenced in 2014 as an eight-year partnership between the Governments of Australia Timor-Leste and is implemented by The Asia Foundation.

The program's goal is that "Women and children in Timor-Leste enjoy gender equality and live free from violence, reflecting the goal of the Timor-Leste National Action Plan Against Gender Based Violence (NAP-GBV) 2022-32. The program focusses on the two pillars of: empowering individuals and communities to act to prevent violence against women and children; and, ensuring survivors of violence have access to high quality safe house, counselling, and legal services.

Nabilan works with civil society organisations (CSOs) across both pillars. Through grant funding and technical support, partners implement violence prevention and positive parenting programs with families and communities. Nabilan also has a feminist leadership and networking initiative, Bin Alin Hakbi'it Malu (Sisters Empowering Each Other-BAHM), which invests in individual feminist leaders and their networks in Timor-Leste and the region. The program supports the Government of Timor-Leste (Secretary of State for Equality, and Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion) in their leadership of the National Action Plan and supports the professionalisation of the social services sector.

In Phase III, Nabilan expanded to include a focus on violence against children, primarily through the inclusion of play therapy within the services pillar, and positive parenting within the prevention pillar.

Australian NGO Cooperation Program – ANCP

ANCP is a partnership between the Australian Government and Australian NGOs to deliver a range of development programs and services. In 2023-24 ANCP funded 19 Australian NGOs in Timor-Leste to deliver 41 projects across different municipalities. ANCP-funded programs cover a diverse range of sectors, including health and nutrition, disability advocacy, agriculture, water security, child protection and women's economic empowerment. ANCP NGOs and their local partners run community-based projects that have a direct and tangible impact on the individuals, institutions and communities involved.

See related: ANCP page, and Impact Story on Strengthening national engineering sectors in Timor-Leste.