International Development policy

Supporting a stronger, safer, and more prosperous Indo-Pacific

Australia's international development policy sets the long-term direction for Australia's development program. It guides how Australia works with partners to advance a peaceful, stable, and prosperous future for our region, and for Australia – ensuring the program is responsive to today's complex and interconnected challenges.

As profound global challenges reshape our world, development needs across the Indo-Pacific and beyond are intensifying. Australia stands with its partners. Our policy positions development assistance as a key pillar of Australia's statecraft – working alongside diplomacy, trade and defence to advance our interests in a fairer, safer and more secure world.

2026–27 Budget highlights

• ODA commitment: In 2026-27, the Australian Government will provide $5.209 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) – an increase of $112 million from 2025-26.
• Regional focus: More than 75 cents in every development dollar benefits the Indo-Pacific, because our region's future is inseparable from our own.
• Deepening people-to-people links: Increasing funding to the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) by $7 million and the Australian Volunteers Program by $4 million.
• Building on our partnerships: Implementing the Australia-Indonesia Treaty on Common Security and providing development assistance to Nauru after its scheduled graduation from ODA eligibility.
• Backing climate ambition with action: Providing an additional $550 million in grant capitalisation for the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific to deliver critical infrastructure aligned with Pacific priorities.

For detailed ODA budget information see the 2026-27 Official Development Assistance Budget Summary.

Development priorities

Pacific

Australia's closest neighbours – Pacific island countries – are central to our development efforts. Their stability, security and prosperity are directly tied to our own. As a trusted and longstanding partner, Australia supports the Pacific family in building a stronger, more resilient region – guided by Pacific priorities and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

We work in partnership with Pacific governments, communities, and regional organisations to deliver Pacific-led, Australian-backed solutions. These efforts support essential services and build resilience to climate, economic and other shocks.

In 2026-27, Australia will deliver a record $2.2 billion in ODA to the Pacific – reinforcing our role as the region's largest and most comprehensive development partner. This investment supports bilateral and regional cooperation, including through the landmark Papua New Guinea-Australia Mutual Pukpuk Treaty, Tuvalu-Australia Falepili Union, the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Partnership, and the Nauru-Australia Treaty.

Learn more about Australia's development cooperation in the Pacific.

Southeast Asia

Australia is deepening our development partnerships with Southeast Asia. In 2026–27, Australia will deliver $1.4 billion in ODA to the region – tailored to mutual priorities such as 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 Foun Ba Era Foun (New Partnership for a New Era) between Timor-Leste and Australia, which deepens engagement across the region to advance our shared interests.

Learn more about Australia's development cooperation in Southeast Asia.

Building Resilience

Climate Action & Climate Finance

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.

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.

We are:

• Investing $550 million through Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific. This will support high quality climate resilient infrastructure across priority sectors including energy, transport and telecommunications.
• Deploying off-grid investments, including the $75 million REnew Pacific program, delivering clean, reliable renewable energy, demonstrating our commitment to the $350 million Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership (PCIFP).
• Working to align international climate finance with decarbonisation and adaptation needs.
• Backing climate ambition with action – not just through diplomacy, but through development investments that deliver real benefits on the ground.

Through key initiatives such as the Partnerships for Infrastructure, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific and Australian Development Investments, we are investing in numerous climate and clean energy infrastructure priorities for our region.

Humanitarian action

Australia's humanitarian efforts aim to save lives, alleviate suffering, build resilience, and uphold human rights and dignity in crises.

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.

Our 2024 Australia's Humanitarian Policy outlines how Australia harnesses its resources and expertise to better prepare for and respond to humanitarian crises, now and in the future.

Australia will focus on three priorities:

• Readiness and preparedness: anticipating shocks and working with our partners to build resilience before crises strike to lessen their impact.
• Crisis response: delivering needs-based, inclusive support to protect those most at risk.
• System strengthening: reinforcing adherence to international humanitarian law and strengthening global coordination.

To keep our region prosperous and secure, we focus on readiness and preparedness, protecting people in crisis, and upholding global humanitarian norms.

Expanding opportunities for everyone

Gender equality, disability equity and social inclusion are central to our development approach – reflecting both Australia's values and our strategic interests.

Australia's ambitious agenda for gender equality and disability equity and rights are guided by two flagship strategies, the International Gender Equality Strategy and the Disability Equity and Rights Strategy, lifting our ambition for a fairer, safer region for all.

Key gender equality and disability equity and rights highlights include:

• Mandatory integration: All ODA investments valued at $3 million and above must have a gender equality objective.
• Gender performance: 80 per cent of investments must effectively address gender equality in implementation.
• Disability targets: At least 60 per cent of investments must perform effectively on disability equity by 2026 – rising to 70 per cent by 2030.
• Funding boosts: Australia increased its central disability funding in 2026-27 to $16 million and allocated $12 million to expand access to assistive technology across the Indo-Pacific.
• New flagship programs: In 2025-26 Australia is investing $25 million for Pacific Strong: Amplifying Action to End Violence against Women and Girls.
• Inclusive communities: Australia has also established a landmark $3.5 million Inclusion and Equality Fund to support, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) organisations to catalyse change in their communities.

In 2024-25, Australia invested over $2.6 billion in initiatives that advanced gender equality and more than $1.7 billion in disability equity and rights.

Our performance

Australia is committed to delivering an effective, high-quality development program – one that responds to partner needs, achieves results, and continually improves.

We foster a strong performance culture that generates robust data on performance, drives improvement and promotes accountability. Our performance culture is underpinned by effective senior leadership and governance, and strengthened monitoring, evaluation and learning approaches that use evidence to learn and adapt.

Performance and delivery framework

Our performance and delivery framework helps drive reform and improve how we plan, design, deliver and communicate our results; provide timely and transparent information on investments and performance; and deliver accountability to the Australian Parliament and public.

The framework has four main elements:

• Country and Regional Development Partnership Plans: co-designed with partners to align on shared objectives, expected outcomes, and approaches to evaluation and learning
• A three-tier framework: expanded and more ambitious performance indicators that tracks regional context, what we do, and how we contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Strategic partnership agreements: with multilateral organisations to track results
• Investment-level monitoring and evaluation systems.

Development Partnership Plans

• Afghanistan
• Africa Regional
• Bangladesh
• Cambodia
• Fiji
• Indonesia
• Laos
• Myanmar
• Pacific Regional
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Samoa
• Sri Lanka
• Solomon Islands
• South Asia Regional
• Southeast Asia Regional
• Timor-Leste
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vietnam

Development Finance Review

Australia's development policy is informed by the Development Finance Review, which examined how financing tools can enhance the impact of our investments – including in climate and gender.

The Government accepted all eight recommendations from the review and is:

• scaling up existing finance mechanisms
• working more with philanthropic organisations and impact investors to advance shared interests
• strengthening gender equality outcomes, and
• increasing transparency of Australia's development finance.

Development investments

Australia's development investments make us stronger and more influential in the world. They bolster the nation's relationships and competitiveness, support stability, and contribute to a more secure global environment amid rising uncertainty.
Australia provides detailed information on the objectives, results and impacts of our ODA investments through:

• AusDevPortal – detailed project-level information and documents
• Performance of Australian Development Cooperation – annual reports on whole-of-program results and analysis.

Development transparency

Transparency underpins an accountable, effective, and responsive development program. Australia is enhancing visibility of Australia's development assistance efforts through:

• AusDevPortal – A user-friendly hub providing access to project descriptions, expenditure, geographic data and results
• Resumed International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) reporting – Australia recommenced annual project-level reporting to IATI in 2024, starting with the 2022-23 dataset, available through the IATI tools and resources.

These efforts support public confidence and improve the accessibility of Australia's ODA data for all stakeholders.

Further resources:

• International Development Policy
• Performance and delivery framework
• AusDevPortal
• International Development policy joint media release
• International Development Policy one year anniversary joint media release
• Australia's new Humanitarian Policy joint media release
• New International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy join media release
• Minister Wong UN Women International Women's Day Parliamentary Breakfast speech
• Minister Wong National Statement to the UN General Assembly speech
• Minister Wong UN summit of the future speech
• Minister Wong Launch of the International Development Policy speech