Australia will support Bangladesh in building up its ability to provide for all its citizens' needs and to build a more inclusive, stable and resilient society in which social and economic potential is realised.

The current phase of our strategic partnership with BRAC and Canada, particularly the BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative, serves as a substantial commitment to Bangladesh achieving SDG1 (no poverty), and allows us to work with communities vulnerable to climate change to plan resilience in housing, agriculture and water supplies.

Through our partnership with UNDP, we will help Bangladesh develop a better targeted and shock-responsive social security protection scheme, which will be designed to build the resilience of climate and disaster vulnerable communities. We are funding a further phase of support for the rollout of the next National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh, which will involve consolidating social security management, implementing new universal entitlements and gathering an evidence base to inform the design.

We plan to continue implementation of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research's (ACIAR) strategy for Bangladesh. The strategy prioritises crop improvements, farming systems development, water and soil management, and market development, all of which have strong climate resilience aspects and significantly involve communities in planning and implementing research activities.

Drawing on the experience of Australian NGOs, our partnerships will help ensure that successful community-based approaches to environmental management and livelihoods, especially those that are gender transformative, are shared and scaled up when possible.

Our investments and partnerships will continue to establish platforms at the community level for action on gender equality, discrimination and elimination of gender-based violence, and for advocacy at the national level. We will maintain close working relationships with women's advocacy groups and organisations of persons with disability and advocate for equitable social security reform, including a disability pension with increased coverage and a better information base as part of our broader support for social security reform.

Australia's strategic partnership with BRAC has helped to grow the ultra-poor graduation model, legal services for women and the mass mobilisation of women through village groups. Australia has developed relationships in skills development through partnerships with organisations including UCEP. This has been essential in ensuring that women and people with disability are positioned to take advantage of the jobs of the future, and all the benefits they bring in agency and status within and outside the family.

To promote decent employment, we will work with partners providing skills development to ensure that programs are tailored for women and people with disability and gather evidence of the effects of employment on these groups' welfare and their status within households and communities.

Through the Bangladesh Economic Engagement Program (BEEP), we will work with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation to increase adoption of digital payments (an important step for promoting financial inclusion and access to credit for marginalised groups) and support the strengthening of Bangladesh's climate finance architecture. Australia can offer a unique value-add by supporting Bangladesh to develop the architecture and policies to maximise its access to climate finance and the impact and effectiveness of its expenditures. At the policy and institutional level, this includes initiatives aimed at improving inter-agency coordination, reporting, data aggregation and analysis, identification of climate finance needs and gaps, and the development of a results measurement system. At the grassroots level, Australia's development and humanitarian programs will continue to work with vulnerable communities on climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience. This includes program activities focused on climate resilient agriculture and livelihoods, reforestation, the promotion of renewable energy and awareness raising on disaster risk reduction. As Australia embarks on its own energy transition away from reliance on fossil fuels, it is well placed to support Bangladesh.

As Bangladesh makes more progress towards upper middle-income status, Australia will re-evaluate the areas in which it can add value. This may lead to a change in our investments and programs; however, we foresee climate change being an ongoing challenge for Bangladesh and will integrate this in our planning for future funding.

Bangladesh Economic Engagement Program (BEEP)

$8.3 million, 2023 to 2028

The Bangladesh Economic Engagement Program (BEEP) Fund is a five-year program supporting Bangladesh's economic stability and resilience. Through partnerships with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank, BEEP aims to strengthen economic policy frameworks and institutional capacity to help Bangladesh achieve its ambition of becoming an upper-middle-income country. Through its collaboration with IFC, the program promotes inclusive and sustainable private investment, while its partnership with the World Bank drives macroeconomic reforms—enhancing domestic revenue mobilization, boosting trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), improving the financial sector, and mobilising climate finance to support long-term development.

Social Security Policy Support Program (SSPS)

$9 million, 2021 to 2026

The Social Security Policy Support Program (SSPS) is a five-year partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Bangladesh. The program supports the implementation of the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) by providing technical assistance, policy guidance, and fostering inter-ministerial coordination. As the sole development partner directly supporting NSSS implementation, Australia plays a key role in advancing inclusive and sustainable social protection reforms. A mid-term evaluation, commissioned by UNDP and reviewed by DFAT, confirmed the program's strong progress in coordination, monitoring, and policy dialogue, while highlighting ongoing challenges in capacity, data, financing, and implementation.

Related document

BRAC Strategic Partnership Arrangement (Phase 3)

$85 million, 2021 to 2026

The Strategic Partnership Arrangement (SPA) Phase 3 is a trilateral arrangement between BRAC, Australia and Canada covering the period 2021-2026. In this Phase 3, Australia is supporting BRAC's development programs including, but not limited to, basic education, social protection, gender and skills programs that benefit millions of Bangladeshis. The SPA also supports BRAC's own organisational change agenda, helping BRAC to further develop its strategic approach and results reporting. The SPA represents the maturing of a relationship between BRAC and development partners from that of funder-implementer to the development of a partnership based on mutual trust, information sharing, and common development objectives.

Skills for Economic Growth and Prosperity (Phase 2)

$12 million, 2023 to 2026

This partnership with a Bangladesh NGO, the Underprivileged Children's Education Program (UCEP), provides pathways through education into vocational skills training and job placement for poor children and adolescents in urban areas, especially women and girls. UCEP's partnerships with the private sector are facilitating the critical connections between education, training and employment that are needed to deliver the workforce industry needs in Bangladesh. Additional information on the partnership can be found on Underprivileged Children's Education Program Bangladesh.

Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research's (ACIAR)

In Bangladesh, ACIAR works with Australian, and in-country partners and focuses on natural resource management (soil and water) in farming systems of north, north-west and coastal Bangladesh with an emphasis on developing climate change adaptation strategies and capacity development. Key agricultural production challenges are common to many countries of South Asia, and ACIAR plays a role in strengthening regional research linkages between Bangladesh and other countries, particularly India (Bihar and West Bengal states) and Nepal (eastern Terai region). AICAR's priorities for Bangladesh include the following:

• Improving crops with a focus on wheat, maize, and pulses
• Improving farming systems with a focus on cropping systems and diversification.
• Increasing water management with a focus on managing both quantity (scarcity, groundwater, and waterlogging) and quality (salinity)
• Improving soil fertility and soil management
• Increasing markets, diversification, and agricultural value chains.