Australian aid

Australian aid is a key focus area for the Development Policy Centre, and we are grateful for funding from the Gates Foundation, which supports our work on aid.

Australian Aid Tracker

Our Australian Aid Tracker provides detailed and accurate information on how much aid Australia gives, where it goes, and what it is spent on.

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Resources and events

Aid budget breakfasts

Our annual events break down the Federal Budget and what it means for aid and development, the morning after the Treasurer delivers the budget speech.

Australasian AID Conference

The annual Australasian AID Conference, held in partnership with The Asia Foundation, is an integral part of the Australian and regional aid calendar.

International development election forums

Ahead of federal elections, the Development Policy Centre co-hosts events which provide political parties with the opportunity to convey their priorities for Australia’s international development cooperation.

Aid transparency

We assess the transparency of the Australian aid program at the project-level as measured by the availability of information about aid-funded projects on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website. 

Public opinion on aid

In this work we are tracking trends in Australian support for aid over time.

Devpolicy Blog

The Devpolicy Blog is home to numerous posts and debates on aid.

Submissions

We routinely make submissions to the Australian Senate and other inquiries on aid and regularly publish reports and discussion papers on the Publications page on Devpolicy Blog.

Areas of ongoing research

Aid project effectiveness

In this work we are studying the reported effectiveness of aid projects. In the work we have looked at the performance of aid loans in the Pacific, the performance of Australian aid projects, why aid projects tend to perform worse in the Pacific and what happens when Australian aid performance reports are subject to rigorous external review.

Australian aid flows

In this work we are systematically analysing how much aid Australia gives, where it is spent and what it is spent on. The first Australian aid flows report was released in 2021.

We are currently working on tracking the gender and climate focus of Australian aid.

Australian NGOs

In this work we have studied where and how Australian NGOs work overseas. We have also studied which parts of Australia have the most NGO donors. We have also studied: trends in donations to NGOs and the drivers of donations; gender equity in senior NGO management; and NGO use of the internet. We worked with the Australian Council of International Development, including on their inaugural State of the Sector report.

Other resources

Aid stakeholder survey

In the past we have surveyed key stakeholders of the Australian and New Zealand aid programs to obtain feedback on the effectiveness of the programs and provide suggestions for improvement.

Aid Profiles

In our Aid Profiles series, we told stories of contributions to aid and development throughout our region, but with an Australian twist.

Mitchell Humanitarian Award

The Mitchell Humanitarian Award (from 2017-2020) was awarded to a contribution to the cause of international development which inspired others, was of lasting and significant value, had a link to Australia.

People

Staff working on Australian aid research and projects at the centre include:

Australian Aid