Building our shared future in a more uncertain world: a reliable and responsive partner for our region

In an increasingly volatile world, Australia is prioritising our own region – a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. We share a future with our region, and it is where Australia's interests are most on the line.

The global development landscape is undergoing a profound transformation. We do not underestimate the challenges ahead. Developing countries in our region face a global triple shock: major aid cuts, trade disruption and energy insecurity linked to conflict in the Middle East. The consequences are likely to be felt over the months and years to come. Hard-earned development gains are at risk.

Australia will remain a reliable partner for those across our region. In 2026–27, Australia will invest $5.209 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA), an increase through indexation of $112 million from 2025-26.

Australia will continue to respond to our partners' needs and priorities, including as the impacts from the Middle East conflict unfold. Our investments in sectors such as humanitarian preparedness, governance, health security, gender equality and disability equity, climate change and the energy transition are helping build resilient societies and reducing the risk of conflict in our region. Our development cooperation is a strategic investment in our shared security, stability and prosperity.

At a time of instability and uncertainty, Australia's development program has to be strategic, effective and sustainable. This has required reprioritising some multilateral funding to meet needs in the Indo-Pacific. We are targeting our efforts and resources in the Indo-Pacific by backing in bilateral and regional partnerships where Australia brings real capability and influence.

Our development program is a core tool of Australia's statecraft. As a middle power, it helps shape our strategic environment, strengthen partnerships and reduce risks – both for Australia and our region. It is a force multiplier, drawing on the expertise of Australia's institutions, private sector and deep connections between people and communities for our shared benefit.

Prioritising our region

A resilient region means a more resilient Australia. Our development program is a targeted investment in our region's peace, stability and prosperity. More than 75 cents in every development dollar benefits the Indo-Pacific, because our region's future is inseparable from our own.

As partners continue to face funding cuts from other donors, Australia has reprioritised funding to urgent regional needs – such as ensuring the continuation of school feeding and vaccination programs in Timor-Leste, supporting displaced Rohingya communities in Myanmar and Bangladesh and helping the Pacific respond to rising HIV rates.

Australia is a partner Pacific island countries can count on. As a founding Pacific Islands Forum member, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with member countries, to navigate energy supply disruptions and inflation shocks. We are supporting Pacific-led solutions that strengthen climate resilience and deliver better infrastructure, health, education, connectivity and economic opportunity for our shared region.

Southeast Asia is central to Australia's future. We contribute to one of the world's fastest growing regions through partnerships that support economic resilience, energy transition and climate adaptation, resilient communities and skills development.

South Asia remains an important area of focus for Australia's development assistance. Through deeper development, economic and security cooperation, we advance inclusive growth, stability and people-to-people connections.

Building resilience in a disrupted world

Our region faces mounting pressures, including global aid cuts, disrupted trade and energy insecurity. Australia is helping trusted partners navigate and build resilience to these shocks. Left unaddressed, these pressures risk eroding development gains, driving instability, increasing pressures on our borders and leaving a vacuum for others to fill.

Energy supply disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict are placing pressure on government budgets, businesses and households. Pacific Island economies, which rely on liquid fuels for electricity, are particularly exposed. Partners across the region are facing fiscal pressures and challenges delivering essential services. Through longstanding investments in energy security, budget support and social protection, Australia is already helping safeguard economic stability. As needs become clearer, we will continue working with partners to respond.

Australia's development program builds long-term resilience by addressing drivers of fragility and instability, including poverty, inequality and weak institutions. Inclusive societies are more peaceful, stable and economically resilient. That is why gender equality, disability equity and social inclusion remain central to our approach.

Our region is on the front line of the climate crisis. Australia is increasing investment across the Indo-Pacific in clean energy, climate-resilient infrastructure and disaster preparedness. We are also backing Pacific leadership ahead of pre-COP and COP31 in 2026, helping drive global climate action around Pacific priorities.

Relationships built on trust

In a more contested world, Australia is strengthening our regional relationships through our development cooperation, complementing and amplifying our diplomatic, security and trade engagement.

Landmark agreements, including our new Alliance, the Pukpuk Treaty, with Papua New Guinea, the Australia-Indonesia Treaty on Common Security (Jakarta Treaty)and the Parseria Foun Ba Era Foun (New Partnership for a New Era) with Timor Leste, deepen our partnerships and safeguard the region we want. Investing in our region today helps Australia remain secure and prosperous tomorrow.

Connections between people build trust in ways governments alone cannot. Volunteers, churches, trade unions, NGOs, universities, businesses and diaspora communities work alongside our neighbours to build capability, networks and opportunity. Our increased investment in the Australian NGO Cooperation Program and the Australian Volunteer Program will further deepen our people-to-people links.

Labour mobility and education deliver mutual economic benefits and cement ties with the region. Over 32,000 Pacific and Timor-Leste workers are contributing to Australian businesses, while 2,000 long-term Indo-Pacific Australia Awards scholars are studying at our universities. Banking, digital connectivity, sport and media partnerships are bringing our region closer together and meeting our partners' national development priorities.

Supporting the rules that protect us all

Australia works with regional and multilateral institutions, including multilateral development banks, to deliver practical outcomes across the Indo-Pacific and ensure coordinated UN support for Pacific climate and development priorities.

Australia is leading global efforts to defend international humanitarian law. Our humanitarian diplomacy has seen 112 countries endorse the Australian-led Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel. Australia's cooperation on maritime security helps reinforce the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

We have made the difficult decision to reprioritise some multilateral funding to focus on our region. Australia continues to provide substantial funding for international organisations. These organisations are delivering development outcomes in our region, and around the world. They are also critical in reinforcing the international rules and norms which underpin our collective peace, stability and prosperity.

Responsive and results-oriented

Australia's development program reflects clear priorities – focusing on our region, our partners' aspirations, investing where Australia has capability and influence, strengthening performance and accountability, and keeping Australians safe.

Our geographic investments are guided by Development Partnership Plans. Mid-cycle reviews will commence in 2026–27, ensuring our partnerships remain responsive to evolving regional and global dynamics.

We are integrating lessons from the 2025 OECD Development Assistance Committee Peer Review, driving continuous improvement in line with international best practice.

We continue to strengthen delivery through robust performance systems and enhanced public transparency – via the AusDevPortal and the annual Performance of Australian Development Cooperation report.

Pacific

Australia's long-term prosperity is tied to a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Pacific. Recognising our inextricable links, we are prioritising regional partnerships. By listening to Pacific priorities and acting on them, we build relationships founded on trust and mutual respect.

Australia is putting the region first, delivering $2.2 billion in ODA to the Pacific in 2026–27 and bolstering our whole-of-nation effort to drive inclusive economic growth, sustainable infrastructure and regional connectivity.

Australia has supported a Pacific Islands Forum members' decision to invoke the Biketawa Declaration and work as regional partners to deliver Pacific-led responses to energy supply disruptions and inflation shocks. Australia also released $30 million in additional budget support for Fiji, recognising Fiji's central role as an energy distribution hub for multiple Pacific island countries.

Australia has heard the Pacific's call for urgent climate action. Our partnership with the Pacific to deliver a Pacific-focused pre-COP, as part of our role as President of the United Nations climate change negotiations, is an unprecedented opportunity to bring the world to the Pacific and amplify Pacific voices in the global response.

Australia has forged and is implementing landmark agreements with Tuvalu and Nauru, and a new Alliance with Papua New Guinea. We are negotiating elevated partnerships with Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu, grounded in our commitment to regional security and prosperity. These agreements reflect our intent to be the Pacific's partner of choice – responding to Pacific priorities with tailored solutions and backing Pacific-led approaches to collective peace and prosperity.

Together we are driving stronger and more integrated economies for the Pacific. We are improving connectivity to back the region's economic future and resilience to external pressure and threats, including through partnerships in high-quality, sustainable infrastructure with the Pacific's digital, banking, media and aviation sectors. Australia is ensuring every Pacific island country will be connected by undersea telecommunications cables, unlocking the full potential of the digital economy. We are expanding access to quality, trusted Australian media and strengthening the capacity of local media to tell their own stories. Our banking partnerships are keeping communities and economies connected, with finance flowing across the region. And our aviation partnerships are supporting a safe and resilient sector that keeps families and businesses connected and promotes tourism.

Australia is backing inclusive growth, jobs and skills to ensure communities maximise the benefits of improved infrastructure and connectivity. We are working with Pacific and Timorese partners to build skills for local employment and bring our training systems closer together.

The region is strongest when it is unified. Australia continues to prioritise engagement with Pacific regional organisations, including the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community and the Forum Fisheries Agency. We are also deepening people and cultural connections through church partnerships, First Nations engagement and our shared love of sport. We will harness the major sporting events of the green and gold decade leading up to the Brisbane Olympics to foster deeper relationships across the Pacific.

We continue to use our investment and influence in international organisations to amplify Pacific voices and advocate for Pacific priorities. Multilateral development banks now have greater in-country presence in the Pacific, resulting in more recognition of the region in these globally important institutions.

Spotlight: Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is Australia's largest development partner and newest ally. After walking the Kokoda Track and addressing each other's Parliaments, in 2025 Prime Ministers Albanese and Marape signed the Papua New Guinea-Australia Pukpuk Treaty, elevating our relationship to an alliance – Papua New Guinea's first ever and Australia's first in 74 years, since those with the United States and New Zealand. Our new alliance with our closest neighbour builds on 50 years of cooperation as equal partners, and multiple existing agreements between our countries.

Australia's ODA (estimated $681 million in 2026–27, $500 million bilateral) is central to this relationship, reflecting our shared commitment to a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Pacific. Australia invests across all key sectors in Papua New Guinea – including economic development, infrastructure, law and justice, governance, education, health, climate and gender equality.

Our partnerships also reflect our shared connections through community, culture and sport. Building on this, Australia has announced a partnership with the Australian Rugby League Commission to deepen ties across the Pacific through rugby league, including supporting the PNG Chiefs to enter Australia's National Rugby League competition in 2028.

Southeast Asia

Australia's security and prosperity are intrinsically linked to Southeast Asia. As a reliable and responsive development partner, Australia is deepening engagement across the region to advance our shared interests.

In 2026–27, we will deliver $1.4 billion in ODA to support Southeast Asia because we all benefit when each other succeeds and thrives. Our development cooperation will focus on mutually agreed priorities, promoting sustainable growth, energy security, climate change and human development.

We are strengthening our connections and building alignment with partners in Southeast Asia, including through the historic Jakarta Treaty and the Parseria joint declarationbetween Timor-Leste and Australia.

The conflict in the Middle East has highlighted the importance of energy security and the urgency to accelerate the region's transition to clean energy. By increasing our investment in the green economy, we are creating shared economic opportunities while also building our collective resilience. Across Southeast Asia, we are supporting investment in the clean energy transition, climate resilient infrastructure, the circular economy and sustainable agriculture. In 2026-27, we will commence a new 10-year climate and energy partnership with Indonesia and phase two of our regional Partnerships for Infrastructure program.

In the face of global instability, Australian assistance is focused on inclusive growth and resilient societies. In Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines we are accelerating women's economic equality by improving workplace gender equality, driving policy reforms in the care economy, and increasing access to capital for Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that benefit women. Across the region, we are strengthening the policy and market foundations needed for trade and investment, digital transformation and social inclusion.

Human capital underpins strong and resilient societies and our shared prosperity. Our partnership with Laos is continuing to improve teaching quality and learning outcomes for primary school-aged children, particularly for ethnic minority children and children with disability. We will work with the Lao Government, Clinton Health Access Initiative and World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen and modernise national systems related to food and alcohol safety, including to prevent methanol poisoning. In the Philippines, we will strengthen the senior secondary school system to better equip students for future study or employment. In Cambodia, we are increasing access to quality public healthcare through a stronger social protection system.

Despite ongoing conflict in Myanmar, our development and humanitarian assistance continues to reach those most in need. Australia does not provide funding to the authorities in Myanmar. Our assistance is provided through multilateral partners and community organisations to support health, education and livelihood opportunities, protection from conflict, and supports future leaders through our scholarship program.

To shape the future we want and support the next generation of regional leaders, Australia will expand its scholarship, fellowship and short course offerings, and strengthen links with Australian alumni. A 2026 Australia Awards pilot will widen access for high-achieving Malaysian students from disadvantaged backgrounds to undertake part of their degree in Australia – strengthening human capital and advancing our education priorities under Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

ASEAN is central to a peaceful, stable and prosperous region – where all countries can cooperate, trade and thrive. In 2026, we will work with ASEAN mechanisms to reduce the risk of conflict and launch a new $15 million phase of the TRIANGLE Partnership on safe regional labour migration.

Spotlight: Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste and Australia are neighbours with a shared history, region and future. Australia is proud to be Timor-Leste's largest development partner, in support of Timor-Leste's prosperity, stability and resilience. In 2026–27, we will deliver $147 million ($99 million bilateral) in development assistance.

On 28 January 2026, Prime Ministers Albanese and Gusmao elevated and formalised bilateral relations through the Parseria Foun Ba Era Foun ('Parseria') Joint Declaration – Tetum for a New Partnership for a New Era. The Parseria outlines areas to further strengthen our relationship, building on our strong cooperation across security, economic development, health, education and community ties.

Over $300 million in funding was announced as part of the Parseria, to support Timor-Leste's nation-building priorities and regional integration. This includes $80 million in private sector development and $220 million in human development initiatives over 10 years, as well as an additional $8 million – bringing total support to $20 million – to boost support for Timor-Leste's ASEAN and World Trade Organization memberships.

South and Central Asia

Australia will deliver $359 million in 2026–27 to support South and Central Asia partners' development priorities, with a focus on strengthening economic development, building regional cooperation and linkages, and advancing gender equality and climate resilience. We are deepening Australia's partnerships in the region through targeted investments in skills development, infrastructure, trade and water security.

Australia will continue to prioritise responding to protracted and acute humanitarian needs, with a strong emphasis on supporting women and children affected by crisis, particularly Rohingya displaced in Bangladesh and those affected in Afghanistan. Through partnerships with UN agencies and civil society organisations, Australia will deliver life saving assistance and help communities recover from shocks across the region.

To bolster economic resilience, Australia's $40 million five-year investment in the second phase of the South Asia Regional Infrastructure and Connectivity program (SARIC2) will provide technical assistance and training to support governments progress infrastructure projects and regional policy cooperation. These catalytic investments will unlock trade, enhance regional integration and drive sustainable economic growth.

Through Australia Awards, approximately 180 scholarships will help build long term partnerships and stronger institutions by supporting future leaders with high quality education, skills and networks that deliver lasting development impact.

Climate Action

Climate change is threatening the region's development, placing growing pressure on infrastructure, livelihoods, food security and economic resilience. In 2026, the Pacific will host the Pre-COP (Conference of the Parties) meeting in Fiji and a special leaders' event in Tuvalu. In the lead up to the Pacific Pre-COP and COP31, Australia is working with Pacific leaders on shared priorities, including climate finance through the Pacific-led Pacific Resilience Facility.

Australia is focused on practical delivery, particularly climate-resilient infrastructure and clean energy, which Pacific partners consistently identify as central to their climate and development ambitions. Through investments across the Indo-Pacific – such as Australia's longstanding support for Solomon Islands' Tina River Hydropower Development Project and our contribution to the Republic of Marshall Islands' new Resilience and Adaptation Trust Fund – Australia is helping strengthen energy security, improving the resilience of transport, food and water systems, and reducing exposure to climate and disaster risk.

Australia is using our development assistance to strategically mobilise additional public, private and philanthropic finance, working with multilateral development banks and partners to crowd in investment and accelerate delivery of priority projects.

We are backing climate ambition with action – not just through diplomacy, but through development investments that deliver real benefits on the ground. Anchoring these efforts in lived experience helps ensure climate action delivers lasting economic, social and environmental outcomes at the community level.

Climate Resilient Infrastructure and Clean Energy

Pacific

Working with partners to integrate climate considerations, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) supports high quality climate resilient infrastructure across priority sectors including energy, transport and telecommunications. These investments strengthen connectivity and economic resilience, reduce poverty, improve essential services access and unlock social opportunities, particularly for climate vulnerable communities.

With an additional $550 million AIFFP investment from 2026–27, Australia is expanding infrastructure projects in the Pacific and Timor-Leste, enabling a more flexible response to Pacific priorities amid intensifying pressures. This reinforces Australia's commitment to locally led, financially sustainable, climate and disaster resilient infrastructure, which lifts living standards.

Climate resilience is embedded across AIFFP investments, combining renewable energy, nature based solutions and resilient design to protect assets and communities while strengthening energy security, reducing reliance on imported fuels and lowering costs.

Our off-grid investments, including the $75 million REnew Pacific program, are delivering clean and renewable energy options to Pacific communities and are critical to supporting their energy and development needs, like the solar and battery system at Good Samaritan Hospital in Solomon Islands, benefitting 43,000 people. These projects demonstrate our commitment to Pacific communities' climate resilience and are implemented through the $350 million Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership (PCIFP). Eleven projects have been completed since 2024, supporting remote, climate-vulnerable schools, health centres and communities. These projects have been co-financed and co-delivered in partnership with 25 private sector entities, and NGOs.

Southeast Asia

Accelerating the clean energy transition is key to strengthening Southeast Asia's energy security. Australia is deploying ODA and non-ODA tools to support this transition, helping countries strengthen energy policy, planning and management. In Laos, the Australian Energy Regulator is helping to establish Laos' energy regulatory body, overseeing a sector generating almost 13 per cent of GDP.

We are supporting the development of clean energy supply chains and infrastructure. Through Australian Development Investments (ADI), we are mobilising finance into solar, wind, electric mobility and energy efficiency projects. To date, ADI has funded 145.6 MW of new solar capacity – enough to power around 145,000 households annually across Southeast Asia. Over the next financial year, ADI is positioned to double its climate investments. We also support ASEAN priorities such as the ASEAN Power Grid, including through Australia's commitment as an anchor partner in the Asian Development Bank's new Regional Connectivity Fund.

We are helping partners attract quality finance, including from Australia. The first investment under Australia's non-ODA $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility is a $77 million investment in Singapore's Financing Asia's Transition Partnership (FAST-P), complemented by a further $100 million through Export Finance Australia. Through FAST-P, capital is being deployed across clean energy projects, including hydropower in Indonesia, solar and battery storage in the Philippines, and other renewable projects across the region.

Humanitarian action

Australia is focused on humanitarian action that builds resilience, saves lives and reduces suffering. To keep our region prosperous and secure, we focus on readiness and preparedness, protecting people in crisis, and upholding global humanitarian norms.

In 2026–27 Australia's humanitarian assistance will be an estimated $742 million. Across the Indo-Pacific, we will continue to support partners before, during and after disasters. Through initiatives such as the Pacific Humanitarian Warehousing Program, we will work with partners to strengthen preparedness and reinforce local leadership. Maintaining our rapid response capabilities – including relief supplies and emergency response teams – Australia stands ready to respond to sudden-onset disasters when requested.

Australia will deliver lifesaving assistance, including to conflict-affected and displaced people, while supporting the humanitarian system to remain effective and responsive amid escalating global need and instability. We will continue investing in initiatives that safeguard humanitarian personnel and uphold the principles that enable them to operate in the world's most dangerous environments. Through Australia Assists, we deployed 75 people in 25-26 into multilateral, regional, and host government organisations, predominantly in the Pacific, to support partners prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Through the $150 million Humanitarian Emergency Fund, Australia stands ready to act rapidly and decisively when crises strike or when protracted crises deteriorate – demonstrating our role as a steadfast and reliable partner.

Protection of Humanitarian Personnel

Attacks, violence and threats against aid workers are increasing, while respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) is being eroded. In response, Australia is leading global efforts to protect humanitarian personnel. Strengthening the international system and defending IHL are core priorities of Australia's Humanitarian Policy. The continued loss of humanitarian workers' lives underscores the urgency of action.

On 21 September 2025, Australia led the launch of the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, joined by over one hundred countries – more than half the United Nations membership. This Declaration is a global commitment to practical action to protect aid workers, like Zomi Frankcom.

Since its launch, Australia has built broad international momentum behind the Declaration. A Group of Friends was established, with its inaugural joint statement delivered at the Human Rights Council and endorsed by 64 States. More than 50 countries signed on to an Australian-led Joint Statement on Lebanon, demonstrating growing collective resolve to address threats to humanitarian personnel in specific operational contexts. Together with signatories, Australia continues to drive political engagement to translate commitments into action.

Through a $15 million package, we are supporting concrete initiatives to implement the Declaration including safety training, legal support for affected workers and families, improved data collection for accountability and system wide adoption of its principles. With Australian funding support, the UN Department of Safety and Security has delivered 631 training sessions across Syria, Myanmar, Lebanon and Afghanistan. Australia continues to advocate for clear commitments and concrete action to ensure humanitarian personnel are respected and protected.

Humanitarian partners and UN development agency core funding tables

i) The tables above represent core funding. Australia provides additional funding to partners through global, regional and country programs.

ii) UNDP core funding has recommenced following a one-year pause in the 2025-26 Budget. Annual funding will resume at $10 million (previously $13 million).

Connecting People, Institutions and Businesses

Australian Non-Government Organisation Cooperation Program

The Australian Non-Government Organisation Cooperation Program (ANCP) is Australia's longest running development investment, backing accredited Australian NGOs to work with local organisations in partner countries to deliver projects aimed at reducing poverty and promoting sustainable, inclusive development. In 2026–27, Australia will invest an additional $7 million in the ANCP, bringing total funding to $150 million. At a time of uncertainty, Australian NGOs, through their extensive partnerships with local organisations and communities, play a critical role in fostering trust and mutual understanding.

2024-25 ANCP Results Snapshot

• 9 million people accessed improved health services (47% women and girls; 0.7% people with disability)
• 217,000 people gained improved household water and/or sanitation (54% women and girls; 1.7% people with disability)
• 36,000 more children enrolled in school (49% girls; 3.7% children with disability)
• 165,000 people received food assistance (56% women & girls; 3.0% people with disability)
• 25,000 people reached through gender equality, disability inclusion and community resilience programs (57% women & girls; 10.6% people with disability)
• 26,000 women supported into leadership and small business roles (2.7% women with disability)

The ANCP supports locally led priorities. Through this model, ANCP brings the best of Australia, including:

• Australian expertise shared directly, person to person. ANCP enables Australian specialists to work hand in hand with local partners, fostering innovation in health, blended finance, and climate resilience.
• Australian connections built through professional collaboration. Australian engineers, agronomists, surgeons and others volunteer their time, working closely with counterparts across the Indo-Pacific. These relationships strengthen professional networks and build capacity on both sides.
• Australians contributing to international development. For every five dollars provided by DFAT, NGOs contribute one dollar raised from the Australian public, reflecting the strong connections Australians feel with communities across the region.
• Long term, respectful relationships. With over 20 per cent of ANCP projects operating for more than five years, the program is built on trust, continuity, and deep people to people ties.

Deepening Regional Connections

Australia is bringing the full weight of our national strengths to deepen relationships across the region. We are increasingly using non-ODA investments to address shared challenges that ODA alone cannot solve. And we are mobilising government, private sector, civil society and community partnerships in ways the best meet the needs of the region while maximising connections and touchpoints with Australia.

Australian Volunteers Program

The Australian Volunteers Program enables Australians to work directly in local organisations across the region, building deeper understanding and fostering life-long connections. In 2026–27, Australia will invest an additional $4 million in the program, bringing total funding to $31 million to deepen people-to-people links and Australian's literacy of the Pacific and Southeast Asia. Volunteers build valuable professional networks during their assignments, leading to enduring partnerships and collaboration throughout their careers. For volunteers, these are formative experiences, deepening their understanding of global issues and Australia's place in the world.

Sports partnerships in the Pacific

Australia's sport investments support partnerships across the Pacific that create opportunities for Pacific communities, athletes, coaches and officials across the region.

In 2026–27 Australia's flagship sports diplomacy program, PacificAus Sports, will help at least 10,000 athletes, officials and administrators access training opportunities and participate in elite competitions. The program will support women and men to make contributions as leaders and role models in their organisations and communities. With an annual reach of around 3 million spectators, the program deepens people-to-people linkages and sporting ties across the region.

Australia's flagship sport for development program, TeamUp, will continue to support participation in grassroots and community sports, including soccer, cricket, netball and volleyball. The program brings people together to champion gender equality, social inclusion and build safer, more connected communities.

The PNG Chiefs' entry into the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) represents far more than a new team – it is a long-term investment in people, opportunity and partnership. Australia will provide $250 million over ten years to establish grassroots and elite rugby league pathways in PNG, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga in partnership with the Australia Rugby League Commission. This program will help drive social change, inspire young people and create pathways into education, employment and elite sport.

Pacific Banking

Australia is keeping the Pacific connected to the global financial system at a time when correspondent banking links have collapsed by 60 per cent since 2011.

The Pacific Banking Guarantee Act 2025 puts Australia's balance sheet behind a long-term commitment to maintain trusted banking services across the region. ANZ Bank – with operations in nine countries – is investing $50 million in systems, reserving $1 billion for infrastructure finance and keeping digital remittances fee free for its customers. Westpac will strengthen its presence in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Commonwealth Bank took over operation of the only physical bank branch in Nauru to ensure that 12,000 residents can still access banking services. Pacific governments want Australian banks for their stability, compliance standards and global networks. Three major Australian banks, operating across eleven countries, are supporting one critical outcome: reliable financial access for our partners when it matters most.

PALM Scheme

The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme builds skills and generates income for Pacific and Timor-Leste workers, while addressing workforce shortages in Australia. Workers are sending home about $1,460 per month on average ($556 million in 2025) – typically supporting education, housing and small enterprise – converting PALM scheme participation into long term assets. In 2026–27, around 32,000 PALM workers will support key sectors in Australia's economy, including agriculture, meat processing, and the care economy – helping employers manage critical labour shortages. PALM scheme workers make valuable contributions to communities, enriching culture and communities across the country. It is a practical partnership: real jobs, real skills and real benefits for workers, their families and their communities.

Pacific Church Partnerships

The Pacific Church Partnerships Program is deepening people-to-people ties between Australia and the Pacific. In 2026–27 the program will bring together Pacific and Australian church leaders to discuss shared priorities, including labour mobility, peacebuilding, gender-based violence, community resilience, climate and social cohesion. The Pacific Australia Emerging Leaders Network will enable young Pacific, First Nations and diaspora leaders to engage on their own development priorities for the region. The PNG Church Partnerships Program will strengthen collaboration between Papua New Guinea's seven mainline churches and their Australian faith based partners. These churches represent around 70 per cent of Papua New Guinea's population and provide roughly half of all health and education services.

New Colombo Plan

The New Colombo Plan (NCP) strengthens Australia's Indo-Pacific capability by developing Asia literate graduates with job ready skills, regional experience and language proficiency. Through scholarships, semester exchanges and short-term mobility programs, the NCP supports Australian undergraduates to study, intern, and build language capability across nearly 40 Indo-Pacific locations. On 30 July 2025, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong, announced the second phase of the program to further strengthen Australia's Indo-Pacific capability and Asia literacy. From 2026, the NCP included a language target and a new Semester program – to encourage longer student experiences in the region and place greater priority on learning Asian languages. In the 2026 round, the NCP awarded a record 328 scholarships, including a record number to Indonesia and India, and the first cohort to Timor-Leste. In the 2027 round, we intend to offer 400 scholarships in line with our intent to get to 500 scholars by 2028.

Southeast Asia and Australia Government Partnerships

In the year ahead, SEAG2G will support 54 partnerships aligned with 22 recommendations from Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. These collaborations will build capability, strengthen trust and support practical outcomes, including in Indonesia, where the Australian Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has worked with counterparts to strengthen Indonesia's biosecurity cooperation, reinforcing Australia's role as a world-leading biosecurity regulator.

First Nations International Engagement

First Nations international engagement includes a focus on integrating First Nations perspectives, knowledges and traditional practices into Australia's development approach and programs. The Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative integrates First Nations Australian perspectives and capabilities across Australia's regional health programming. This includes projects such as RESPOND, implemented by Menzies School of Health Research, which is strengthening relationships between First Nations Australians and Timorese stakeholders through Hili Saudável ('Choose to Be Healthy'), a co-designed, culturally appropriate health promotion initiative grounded in local priorities.

Gender Equality

No country can reach its full potential without equal opportunity for all. At a time when gender norms are at risk of erosion, Australia remains committed to advancing gender equality and the human rights of women and girls in our region and worldwide. Gender inequality exacerbates global development challenges and undermines democratic institutions and stability. Inclusive societies are peaceful and prosperous, and this is in the interests of Australia and our region.

Australia's gender equality effectiveness and investment targets are driving improved performance and embedding gender considerations more deeply across the development program. Our International Gender Equality Strategy outlines how Australia is advancing gender equality across diplomacy, development, trade and security. Priorities in 2026–27 include advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda; accelerating women's economic empowerment and access to capital; and improving online safety, including addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence and engaging men and boys.

In 2026–27, Australia will invest $104 million to support programs focused on gender equality, disability and social inclusion. We will also continue to include gender equality objectives in all major development investments and reinvigorate efforts to ensure all our programs are effectively advancing gender equality.

We are investing in locally led, high-impact partnerships. Pacific Women Lead, our $170 million flagship program, supports Pacific partners to drive solutions in local contexts. In 2025, Australia announced a further $25 million over five years for Pacific crisis centres providing essential services for women and children experiencing violence, including health care, counselling and access to justice.

Australia's Gender Equality Fund – now increased to $71 million – is scaling support for initiatives that deliver measurable results. This includes a new phase of the Accelerating Investment in Women's Rights (AIR) partnership ($63 million), increasing support to four leading Indo-Pacific Women's Funds so they can reach the most marginalised women and girls across the Indo-Pacific. Under the AIR pilot, Australia delivered almost 600 grants to strengthen women's rights organisations across more than 25 countries – expanding access to family violence and health services, and building resilience to economic, humanitarian and climate shocks.

Disability Equity and Rights

Australia is advancing disability equity and rights as a strategic investment in a more peaceful, stable and prosperous region. To achieve sustainable development, we must deliver on our commitment to leave no one behind. Inclusive societies manage shocks better, reduce inequality and support sustainable economic growth that benefits the region and Australia alike.

Australia's International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy guides our engagement and introduced Australia's first phased performance target for disability equity: 60 per cent of development and humanitarian investments performing effectively by 2026, increasing to 70 per cent by 2030.

In 2026–27, Australia will invest $16 million in core disability funding, complementing efforts to integrate disability equity across Australia's development program.

This funding provides core and capacity building support to national, regional and global disability rights organisations, including partnerships with the International Disability Alliance, Pacific Disability Forum and ASEAN Disability Forum. Australia's support is strengthening the ability of Organisations of People with Disabilities to lead, advocate and participate in decision making – reinforcing inclusive governance and contributing to more resilient and stable societies.

Health

Robust health systems underpin our region's stability and prosperity, and Australia's health security. In 2026–27, Australia will invest $648 million in health-related development assistance.

Australia remains a steadfast partner, working with countries in the Pacific and Southeast Asia to improve health outcomes for all.

The new $48 million Australian Support for Pacific HIV Action initiative will bring world-class expertise to support Pacific-led national responses to HIV and common co-infections such as tuberculosis. Initial work is underway with regional health ministries to identify gaps in preparedness and planning through expert-led 'rapid assessments'.

This complements broader Australian support through partnerships between leading Australian institutions and counterparts in Southeast Asia and the Pacific to strengthen regional health systems. Areas of focus include disease surveillance, access to vaccines and critical health products, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Australian experts from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand will work with counterparts in Laos to strengthen national systems related to food and alcohol safety.

Education

Quality education reduces poverty and supports strong, inclusive and resilient communities. In 2026–27, Australia will invest $571 million in education, promoting lifelong learning in our region – particularly for girls, women and people with disabilities.

Our education investments with Indo-Pacific partners expand learning opportunities, build pathways to support a skilled workforce, and develop a new generation of local leaders. Strengthening literacy and numeracy learning outcomes is essential for future learning and employment opportunities. Promoting accessible and inclusive education prepares all children and young people to contribute fully in their communities.

Through Australia Awards, we share our world-class educational resources with partners and build leadership, expertise and people-to-people links across our region. In 2026–27, approximately 1,400 Australia Awards scholars will commence their studies. These scholarships, together with fellowships and short courses, enable partner countries to progress their own development priorities and build networks of influence for future generations.

Australia is also strengthening workforce readiness through vocational training and skills development across the Indo-Pacific, including through the Aus4Skills program in Vietnam, and the Pacific Australia Skills program.

Table 1: Australian ODA allocations by country, regional and global programs

Table 2: Australian ODA by country and region of benefit

Table 3: Australian ODA delivered by other government departments

* Represents grant equivalent of loans for the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) administered by Export Finance Australia.

Table 4:Total ODA Sector Flows

Table 5: Australian ODA Projected Forward Estimates

All 2025-26 and 2026-27 Budget figures are estimates. Due to rounding, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.

Other Government Department figures include estimated ODA grant equivalents on AIFFP loans based on scheduled disbursements (subject to the terms of the loans).

• ¹ Cook Islands has graduated from the OECD Development Assistance Committee list of ODA-eligible countries. Allocations and flows for Cook Islands are not included in total ODA.
• ² 2026-27 ODA allocations and flows to Nauru may change pending Nauru's scheduled graduation from ODA eligibility from 1 January 2027. DFAT would provide non-ODA development assistance following Nauru's graduation.
• ³ The decrease in the Indonesia bilateral allocation is due to a $14m payment brought forward from 2026-27 into the 2024-25 financial year in consultation with the Government of Indonesia.
• ⁴ Includes reduced pledge for the Global Partnership for Education in the next replenishment round.
• ⁵ Cook Islands has graduated from the OECD Development Assistance Committee list of ODA- eligible countries. Allocations and flows for Cook Islands are not included in Total ODA.
• ⁶ A new budget line was created for Other Asian Countries in 2026-27 to align with ODA Statistical Summary reporting.
• ⁷ A new budget line was created for Other Asian Countries in 2026-27 to align with ODA Statistical Summary reporting.
• ⁸ 2026-27 figures for estimated flows from ADF are reported against regions above to implement a more consistent reporting approach