Since 2017, Australia has played an important role in the humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis and in supporting Bangladesh in responding to regional shocks originating from Myanmar. Our contribution to the crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh – more than $1.25 billion committed since 2017 – is Australia's largest humanitarian response. Of this, more than $540 million supports the crisis response in Bangladesh, including in host communities.

Australia acknowledges the extensive support the government and people of Bangladesh have provided in generously hosting more than 1.1 million Rohingya. Our humanitarian assistance includes emergency food, water and shelter and delivers essential protection, education and health services for women, girls and people with disability. This involves grants to United Nations organisations, international and Bangladeshi NGOs, including but not limited to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), UN Women, the Australian Humanitarian Partnership and BRAC. Retaining a combination of partners with multisectoral capabilities in both Rohingya and host communities allows Australia to support a rational, efficient response while continuing to lay the groundwork for improved conditions, including initiatives to build the self-reliance of displaced Rohingyas.

Australia's humanitarian partners and programming are guided by the needs identified in the United Nations- and Bangladesh-agreed 2025-26 Joint Response Plan: Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, which is the key fundraising and advocacy plan for the crisis. Australia will also seek opportunities beyond traditional humanitarian investment in Rohingya communities, including investments in peacebuilding, leadership and governance, and cultural maintenance.

Australia's partnership with Humanity & Inclusion is helping strengthen the quality of disability data across the Rohingya response. This is in turn helping humanitarian agencies in designing and implementing inclusive and targeted humanitarian services.

Australia and Bangladesh remain committed to combating transnational crime, including people smuggling and trafficking in persons, and promoting peace, stability and prosperity in our region. Our humanitarian assistance in the Rohingya camps also focuses on enhancing security and preventing irregular migration. To better understand the security situation and the factors driving irregular migration and people smuggling, we are working with the UNDP's Cox's Bazar Analysis and Research Unit.

Australia will continue to support Bangladesh in building its maritime domain awareness capabilities. This includes providing technical advice, professional short courses and training to enhance Bangladesh's maritime domain awareness, maritime safety and maritime disaster response. Bangladesh is a critical counter people smuggling partner for the Australian Government. The Australian Border Force will work with key border agency stakeholders including the Bangladesh Coast Guard and the Bangladesh Police Special Branch to strengthen their capacity to identify, mitigate and respond to maritime threats and irregular migration. The Australian Federal Police will also work with the Bangladesh Police, providing capacity building training on law enforcement and countering people smuggling. Additionally, the Australian Defence Force will continue its training and education programs with the Bangladesh military, including pre-deployment preparations for United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Regional connectivity is another component of this objective which we will support under the South Asia Regional Infrastructure (SARIC) program, implemented by the World Bank and IFC. SARIC builds on Australia's longstanding investment in South Asian infrastructure and trade facilitation, to enable better-quality and socially inclusive connectivity infrastructure in the region. It has a focus on the energy and transport sector. SARIC countries include Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. In Bangladesh, the SARIC program will support the development of national logistics and supply chains. Additionally, it will help build up the passenger and cargo handling capabilities of the country's largest aviation hub, the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the country's capital city, Dhaka.

Bangladesh Rohingya and Host Communities Humanitarian Package

$190 million, 2023 to 2025
$370 million, 2026 to 2029

The Rohingya crisis remains one of the most complex and protracted humanitarian crises in the Indo-Pacific. The Bangladesh Rohingya and Host Communities Humanitarian Package (2023-2025) is the country level humanitarian response supporting the needs of Rohingya and Host Communities following the mass displacement to Bangladesh from the Myanmar crisis. Since 2017, Australia has contributed over AUD 550 million in humanitarian assistance to Rohingya, host and disaster affected communities in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char. The current package, valued at AUD 190 million over three years (2023-25), aims to address urgent humanitarian and protection needs; increase their self-reliance; build resilience and social cohesion; and improve the effectiveness of the humanitarian system. DFAT is funding a mix of UN and NGO Partners and are guided by the needs identified in iterations of the UN and Government of Bangladesh agreed Joint Response Plans. Australia has committed a further AUD 370 million for the next three years to address the humanitarian needs in both Bangladesh and Myanmar – bringing our total assistance to over $1.26 billion since 2017 to the crises.

South Asia Regional Infrastructure and Connectivity (SARIC)

$32 million, 2020 - 2024

The South Asia Regional Infrastructure Connectivity (SARIC) program is a five-year regional initiative strengthening economic links and promoting growth by addressing infrastructure gaps and regional connectivity challenges. SARIC leverages World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) expertise to mobilise loans and private sector investment in transport and energy infrastructure. In Bangladesh, the program supports the development of cross-border infrastructure projects, including regional power trading between Nepal and Bangladesh, and vital logistics infrastructure at the Chittagong Port. Under SARIC, the SAR100 training program, brought together over 100 women engineers from across South Asia in each cohort, advancing efforts to empower women in the region's power and energy sectors.

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