Our policy focus

Supporting efforts to improve the quality and reach of social protection is an underpinning element of Australia's International Development Policy. Social protection:

• alleviates poverty and enhances community resilience by providing critical safety nets during economic and other shocks;
• helps to enable gender equality, disability equity and social inclusion; and
• supports effective, accountable and resilient states.

Social protection (also referred to as social security or social safety nets) addresses risk, vulnerability, and poverty through a system of cash or in-kind transfers to people. Social protection includes both contributory social insurance and non-contributory social assistance programs.

Social protection plays a key role in building resilience to multiple and compounding social and economic challenges. Regular and predictable cash or in-kind transfers can help people deal with predictable daily stresses, unexpected external shocks and vulnerabilities that can be faced by people across their lifecycle.

Recent global shocks such as COVID-19, ongoing economic and social pressures, and the increasing impacts of climate change in the Indo-Pacific region have also demonstrated the critical importance of strong and inclusive social protection in the face of crises.

How we contribute

Australia's investments in social protection focus on supporting partner governments to build and strengthen their social protection systems to deliver reliable and effective safety nets for their citizens. Australia's support involves assisting partner governments to improve the effectiveness and reach of their own spending on social protection, contributing to social and economic outcomes. Our social protection investments are guided by international and regional evidence and respond to the context in which they are delivered.

Our investments:

• Focus on building social protection systems that address lifecycle risks, to ensure the greatest possible impact on poverty reduction and economic resilience.
• Prioritise gender-responsive, adaptive and shock-responsive social protection systems, that effectively integrate gender equality and climate change considerations and have the flexibility and capacity to support citizens to cope in times of shocks.
• Support governments to improve the coverage and quality of systems, through the provision of contextually relevant technical advice.
• Enhance partner governments' ability to plan and implement their own social protection systems, through prioritising partner-led approaches that strengthen the sustainability of their own programs.
• Actively contribute to a culture of evidence and learning by promoting good practice approaches with our partners, and working with our partners to share their knowledge and lessons at the global level.

Further information about our social protection investments is available in the Social Protection Development Cooperation fact sheet and country and regional Development Cooperation Factsheets.

See also:  Social Protection Partnerships and Social Protection Publications.