Australia and Tonga are committed to building human capital, so that all Tongans can achieve their potential and drive economic growth.
Australia has committed to a 20-year partnership to support the realisation of universal health coverage in Tonga. We provide direct financing and technical support to improve the delivery of essential health services and address the non-communicable disease crisis. This is complemented by multilateral and regional initiatives, including Partnerships for a Healthy Region.
We continue to support basic education infrastructure alongside efforts to improve the supply of demand-driven, flexible and inclusive skills initiatives to address shortages in the domestic market.
Australia is the leading development partner supporting an active civil society and progress towards gender equality, disability equity and social inclusion. We are strengthening engagement with, and support for, people with disability through a new phase of bilateral disability support, including increased and core funding for organisations of persons with disability, strengthening organisational capacity and support for national policy redevelopment.
We have expanded support to women and girls, including increasing efforts to prevent and respond to family violence, and through core funding to service providers and women's rights organisations supporting women's leadership and girls' empowerment. We continue to provide support to the Tongan government's gender equality division to support collaboration and activity across government.
Related initiatives
Tonga Health Systems Support Program Phase 3
$9.8 million, 2023-2026
Australia has a twenty-year commitment to Tonga's health sector through the Tonga Health Systems Support Program (THSSP), which commenced in 2009. THSSP3 is the third phase of this investment and is implemented in partnership with the Tongan Ministry of Health and Tonga Health Promotion Foundation.
The overarching program objective is to support the Government of Tonga to reduce the health and economic burden of non-communicable disease in Tonga, while being more resilient to health security threats, natural disasters, and climate change. The Program aims to strengthen the health system, improve service delivery, and contribute to reducing the burden of NCDs through community empowerment and a multisectoral approach.
Related documents
Tonga Australia Support Platform (TASP)
Up to $25 million, 2021- 2026
The Tonga-Australia Support Platform is a multi-sector development platform that supports the delivery of skills, health, governance, and gender equality and disability inclusion investments. TASP deploys technical advisers, provides logistics and procurement support, and manages grants on behalf of DFAT in Tonga. This includes core funding to women's rights organisations and service providers, LGBTQI+ groups and organisations for people with disabilities in Tonga.
Related documents
| Name of document | Year published |
|---|---|
| Tonga Australia Support Platform Independent Review | 2025 |
Safe and Resilient Schools
$9.3 million, 2021-2027
Led by the World Bank together with the Tongan Ministry of Education and Training, the Safe and Resilient Schools Project for Tonga aims to enhance the safety and resilience of education facilities; and to improve the quality of data-driven education management, curricula, and assessments.
Related documents
| Name of document | Year published |
|---|---|
| Safe and Resilient Schools | 2021 |
Families Free of Violence
$4.2 million, 2022-2026
Implemented by the Australian Federal Police, Families Free of Violence supports a coordinated and integrated approach to strengthen the response to family violence in Tonga. The program works across multiple sectors and agencies in Tonga, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Women's Affairs and Gender Equality Division, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Police and Ministry of Justice and local Non-Government and Faith-based Organisations.
Strengthening the Tongan Media Sector
$490,000, 2023-2026
In partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the project aims to achieve a more professional, resilient, and diverse Tongan media sector in support of the community's access to public interest media content.