Australia fell “under new management” in September 2013, when Tony Abbott was elected prime minister. Shortly after taking office, Abbott introduced changes to the Australian aid program — beginning with the integration of what was then the Australian Agency for International Development into the Department Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Barely a year later, Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop introduced further reforms in the Australian aid program. Dubbed the “new aid paradigm,” the revised policy now sets performance benchmarks for the country’s implementing partners.
Under the new scheme, DFAT intends to strengthen the “link between performance and funding” by planning to deliver value for money in at least 85 percent of its aid investments. Well-performing projects will be given additional financing through the Performance Incentive Fund, which will be rolled out in the 2015-16 financial year. But projects that don’t meet their development targets will be terminated if there are no improvements within a year.