Australia overhauls its international aid policy, ups China competition

The Australian government has overhauled its foreign aid policy for the first time in almost a decade, pledging to develop aid programs in consultation with country, development, and civil society partners. The previous international development policy, released in 2014 during Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s administration, brought gender into aid and fostered innovation in development delivery and financing. Many of these initiatives were cut and international development transparency downgraded after then-Foreign Minister Julie Bishop resigned. The new policy has reinstated and expanded many of these ideas, with some media observers highlighting that the new policy is a means of competing against Chinese development and Chinese presence in the Indo-Pacific region. “This policy we launch today is a result of listening, and it commits our future direction to being guided by listening to the priorities of our partners,” Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign minister, said at the launch in Canberra earlier this month. “It’s been almost a decade since an Australian Government released a development policy. Our world and our region have changed in that time.” As a result of “listening," some 30 new commitments were added to the policy, but the Indo-Pacific region — including the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and South Asia — remains the focus. The policy overhaul aims to “build effective, accountable states that drive their own development,” in partnership with Australia and with increased private sector and philanthropic funding. Africa, the Palestinian territories, and the Middle East continue to have a presence in Australia’s development policy moving forward, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, or DFAT, said. “The overwhelmingly priority issue that partners wanted Australia to focus on was climate change,” Elizabeth Wilde, first assistant secretary at DFAT’s development policy division, said. Transparency, strengthened evaluation, and investment in learning and sharing were also priorities. No new budget measures have been allocated since May and the new policy is expected to work within the funding set. Official development assistance, or ODA, is set to reach 5.05 billion Australian dollars ($3.3 billion) by the 2026-27 financial year. DFAT held a briefing for stakeholders including members of the international development sector and contracting partners, providing more detail on the road ahead. Devex was there to provide key insights for the development sector. New strategies and targets In response to the consultation, a range of new strategies, targets, and funding mechanisms have been introduced, including a reintroduction of gender targets in development spending and new strategies to support the LGBTQ+ community. “Australia will advance gender equality and the human rights of women and girls through the development program, including by reinstating the 80% performance target to ensure Australia’s development investments effectively address gender equality,” Wilde said. Among strategies expected later this year are those dealing with international gender equality, LGBTQ+ issues, disability inclusion, and a new humanitarian strategy that will support people affected by crises, reduce humanitarian need, and improve resilience. “We will support all people to fulfill their potential,” Wilde said. Sustainable funding and investment in civil society Critical to the new policy is funding. “We intend to support local leadership and local actors, including through a new civil society partnership fund,” Wilde explained. The fund is a response to what Australia sees as a shrinking civil society space in the Indo-Pacific region due to a decrease in funding opportunities, with organizations sometimes needing direct and multiyear funding, she said. Currently, there is no budget, but DFAT sees this as a “key flagship commitment” within the policy. DFAT also intends to be more innovative in financing to expand available funding. It will establish a blended finance and investor engagement unit to better engage with philanthropic organizations, charitable trusts, and impact investors. And in response to calls for climate action in the Indo-Pacific region, projects with climate objectives will be among those prioritized for funding. New planning and reporting framework DFAT also explained how it will translate its international development policy into action through its performance and delivery framework. “It really speaks to the way in which the development program will be delivered, how we will assess performance and strive for improvements in the quality of the development program,” Andrew Egan, first assistant secretary for DFAT’s development effectiveness and enabling division, explained at the briefing. “And it speaks to how we will report transparently on the performance and management of the development program.” Development partnership plans, or DPPs, will play a “critical plank in translating the new policy into action,” Egan said. The plans will provide the programs, funding and actions that will occur to deliver development objectives for each country. Their development will involve greater collaboration with partner country governments, in-country organizations, as well as the wider Australian government, and other Australian stakeholders. These plans will be developed and published through 2024. Senior DFAT staff at foreign postings will also take on new responsibilities in communicating development objectives, implementing plans, and ensuring reporting objectives are met. “This measure is designed to increase the accountability of senior leaders,” Egan said. DFAT will conduct a survey on the perceptions of Australia’s development program every two years, provide an annual report on the performance of Australian development cooperation, and insight into ODA and non-ODA deliverables through an online data portal. “We’ll soon start the busy work of designing that portal,” Egan said. DFAT explained in the briefing it is keen to continue engagement with stakeholders and partners on their new international development policy and can be contacted at development.policy@dfat.gov.au.