Development assistance in the Pacific
Overview
This page gives an overview of Australia's work to support regional institutions in the Pacific region.
Strong regional organisations contribute to the objective of Australia’s development program to advance a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Pacific region. Our diplomatic engagement through regional organisations complements our bilateral relationships in the Pacific.
Regional organisations have continued to play an important role in developing collaborative regional responses to critical issues. For example, in 2024 PIF Leaders reaffirmed their support and commitment for the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), recognising it as the first Pacific-led, member-owned and managed climate and disaster resilience financing facility. Leaders also welcomed Australia’s commitment of $100 million towards the Facility.
Australia supports a number of discrete regional initiatives for effective governance. These initiatives support Pacific island countries to strengthen public sector capacities, transparency and accountability, and adopt and adhere to regional norms and standards.
For further information about other Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP) agencies, see the Pacific islands regional organisations webpage.
Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
$18.72 million in core contributions, 2022-2024
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat supports the operation of the Pacific Islands Forum – the pre-eminent regional organisation in the Pacific. Australia is a member of the Forum and provides substantial multi-year core funding to the Secretariat. Our assistance supports the Secretariat to work on regional policy issues including political governance, economic cooperation, security, and trade.
Since 2014, Australia has had a Partnership with the PIF Secretariat. It commits both parties to work together to address the challenges facing our region in line with the Secretariat's mandate.
Australia is a strong supporter of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which was endorsed by PIF Leaders in July 2022. The 2050 Strategy is intended to guide the political and development interests of the region for the next 30 years.
Related documents
Related links
Pacific Community (SPC)
$42.5 million in core contributions, 2021-23
The Pacific Community (SPC) is the largest technical and scientific regional organisation in the Pacific. Its mandate is to assist Pacific Island countries and territories by supporting and supplementing national capacity through the delivery of technical, scientific, research, policy and training services.
Australia is a founding member of SPC. Over 2021-2023, DFAT is providing around $42.5 million for our membership contribution and voluntary core funding. Our predictable, multi-year funding is an investment in SPC's strategic outcomes. It enables SPC to respond to regional priorities and better integrate and report on the impact of its work, including through its four Flagship programs – Climate Change, Oceans, Food Systems, and Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.
Australia also provides project and program funding to SPC, to support the delivery of essential services to its Pacific Island countries and territories members in areas including public health, fisheries science, food security, education standards, statistics for development and gender equality.
In 2014, SPC and Australia entered into a Partnership supporting a shared vision to work in close cooperation to achieve improved development outcomes and sustainable improvements in the quality of life of all Pacific islanders. A revised Partnership Agreement was signed in November 2020, setting out the objectives and performance measures for 2014-2023.
In 2022, Australia and the SPC commissioned an evaluation to assess the effectiveness and impact of the Partnership. The evaluation found the Partnership significantly strengthened SPC’s institutional capabilities, drove reform of the organisation, and increased SPC's focus on gender inclusion. The report considered the Partnership represented value for money, delivering a wide scope of activities effectively and efficiently. The evaluation's findings will inform negotiations on a new Strategic Partnership Framework for 2024-2031 aligned to SPC’s Strategic Plan, 2022 2031.
Related documents*
| Name of document | Year published | Type |
|---|---|---|
| The Pacific Community (SPC) – Government of Australia (GoA) Partnership for Pacific Regionalism and Enhanced Development 2014-2023 | 2021 | Partnership |
Related Links
- Pacific Community
- Pacific Humanitarian Warehousing Program – SPC lead implementing partner
- Pacific Community (SPC) Strategic Plan 2022-2031
- Australia-SPC Partnership Evaluation 2022
* The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is committed to high standards of transparency and accountability in the management of the Australian aid program through publishing information on our website, including policies, plans, results, evaluations and research. Our practice is to publish documents after the partner government and any other partners directly involved in the delivery of the initiative have been consulted. Not all material published on this site is created by the Australian aid program and therefore not all documents reflect our views. In limited circumstances some information may be withheld for reasons including privacy and commercial sensitivity.
* Documents published on this page may not yet meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. If you require a fully accessible copy of this document, please contact OTP.AidEnquiries@dfat.gov.au.