2025-26 bilateral allocation [budget estimate]

$27.1 million

2025-26 total Australian ODA [budget estimate]

$69.7 million

2024-25 bilateral allocation [budget estimate]

$22.1 million

2024-25 total Australian ODA [budget estimate]

$44.9 million

2023-24 total Australian ODA [actual]

$112.8 million

Australia's Official Development Assistance: Statistical Summary provides further details on ODA actuals and estimates.
Australia's partnership with Tonga is anchored in shared values, respect, and mutual benefit. The Tongan values of Feveitokai'aki (sharing and cooperating), Falala'anga (trust), and Fefaka'apa'apa'aki (mutual respect) characterise and guide our partnership. Our two countries hold enduring people-to-people links, nurtured through institutional, educational, cultural, church and sporting relationships and growing diaspora connections. In 2025, Australia and Tonga will celebrate 55 years of diplomatic relations, but our peoples share a much longer history.

As fellow members of the Pacific Islands Forum, Australia and Tonga recognise that our respective national interests are served by a strong and enduring bilateral partnership and a peaceful, stable and prosperous Pacific. In recent years, at the request of the Tongan Government, Australia responded immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption and tsunami, contributing significantly to relief, recovery, and reconstruction efforts.

Our partnership, however, is not limited to times of crises: we have a long history of working together to address shared social, economic and security priorities, including enhanced state resilience, improved human development and climate action. Australia remains Tonga's largest bilateral development partner and a trusted security partner through an extensive defence cooperation program and a long-established policing partnership.

Joint Objectives of the Australia-Tonga Development Partnership

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

Our development partnership objectives draw on partner priorities and our long-standing partnerships. They work to support the implementation of the Tonga Strategic Development Framework (TSDF) and are in line with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

Objective 1 – Improving national resilience to climate change, disasters, and security challenges

Climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of Tongans. Australia will continue working in partnership with the Government of Tonga and communities to enhance national resilience and advance security and sovereignty. Australia will support this priority in line with TSDF National Outcomes of improving climate resilience and advancing security and sovereignty.

Objective 2 – Strengthening fiscal stability, accountable governance, and economic performance

Tonga's economy is recovering after recent, successive shocks. At high risk of debt distress and facing account deficits, Tonga has identified the need to strengthen public finances and administration, improve the business environment, and invest in improved infrastructure for productivity and growth. Australia will support this priority in line with TSDF National Outcomes of strengthening inclusive good governance and improving infrastructure.

Objective 3 – Enhancing health, gender equality, and social outcomes for all Tongans

Australia and Tonga are committed to building human capital, so that all Tongans can achieve their potential and drive economic growth. This objective is aligned to TSDF National Outcomes of balancing urban and rural development and empowering human development with gender equality.

Climate Change

Tonga is rated as one of the most at-risk countries to climate change and natural disasters. Climate modelling predicts more heat waves and drought impacting human health and agricultural productivity; sea level rise exacerbating inundation events; intensified cyclones causing widespread damage; and ocean acidification and warming impacting local fisheries. Despite some progress, climate-resilient critical infrastructure and services are generally lacking.

Tonga has a strong commitment to climate action and a strategic climate and disaster policy framework. Despite Tonga's negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement includes a transition to 70% renewable electricity by 2030. National commitments are being translated to meaningful action through initiatives such as the Tonga Climate Change Trust Fund, which will provide financial support for community-based adaptation and mitigation. However, Tonga faces an estimated USD289m climate financing gap to 2030.

To support Tonga's climate change adaptation and mitigation priorities, Australia will deepen efforts to integrate climate considerations across the development program, capitalising on the strength of our partnerships built over many years. A focus will be on supporting communities to adapt and manage climate risks facing their wellbeing, livelihoods, and assets, including through a new national and locally-led partnership for climate resilient communities. We will also support underlying resilience through support to strengthen social protection systems and through efforts to address gender and social inequalities. We will build targeted strategies for climate induced environmental hazards and natural disaster into our health system strengthening partnership. We will also continue to support the capacity of the National Disaster Risk Management Office and build humanitarian response capabilities. We will support development of the 2024-2029 Tonga Agriculture Sector Plan as the basis for a climate resilient agriculture sector.

Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion

Since 2000, the vision of successive Tongan Government policies has been to achieve gender equality by 2025. There has been some progress, including higher rates of girl's enrolment in secondary education, the enactment and implementation of the Family Protection Act, increased participation of women in business and higher levels of women's leadership in the civil service. Dedicated and persistent local champions and organisations  have been key to progress.  roles, family and gender-based violence, and impediments to exercising sexual and reproductive health rights and acquiring land remain significant barriers to achieving gender equality. Persons with diverse sexual orientations andHowever, significant barriers to achieving gender equality remain, including gendered cultural norms, limited representation in leadership and political roles, family and gender-based violence, and impediments to exercising sexual and reproductive health rights and acquiring land. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual and identity-diverse (LGBTQIA+) people, including the fakaleiti community, experience exclusionary and discriminatory practices.

In line with Tonga and Australia's shared development commitments, we will work together to advance gender equality, disability and social inclusion, and to diversify economic, social and political opportunities for all Tongans. Australia is a long-term advocate and supporter for GEDSI. We will continue our capacity building to the national women's machinery and disability division to lead efforts across government to implement national GEDSI policies and commitments. For more than a decade we have provided core funding to social service providers for survivors of family violence and we will continue to prioritise long-term support while increasing preventative efforts and shifting harmful social norms. We will work with government and civil society to address concerning rates of cyber facilitated sexual harassment and bullying.