ODA Overview

How much ODA does Australia allocate?

Australia is the 14^th-largest economy in the world. OECD data for 2024 show Australia as the 14^th-largest donor in absolute terms.

At US$3.3 billion for 2024, ODA represented 0.19% of Australia’s GNI, putting it below many other major donors in terms of its prioritization of global development.

How is Australian ODA changing?

Australia’s ODA budget has been steadily declining since its peak in FY2013/14. Despite this steady decline, ODA increased from 2020 to 2021 due to an increase in bilateral grants, primarily for COVID-19 vaccine donations and health system assistance.

Australia’s Labor Party government, elected in May 2022, abolished the previous government’s AUD4 billion ( US$2.8 billion) budget cap. Previously, that limit was surpassed by excluded ‘temporary, targeted & supplementary measures’ that supported COVID-19 assistance, economic recovery, and regional partnerships. A revised budget was released in October 2022, which sought to spend an additional AUD1.4 billion ( US$971 million) over four years. In the FY2023/24 budget, released in May 2023, the government committed to increasing the ODA budget by 2.5% annually from FY2026/27 onward. It also aimed to increase Australia’s overseas assistance by AUD8.6 billion ( US$6 billion) over a ten-year period starting in FY2027/28. Although the Australian government has spoken in terms of rebuilding its ODA budget, in fact, this commitment only acts to maintain roughly the current monetary value of its ODA for a decade from FY2027/28. As a result, Australia’s ODA/GNI ratio will continue to fall as the economy grows.

The FY2025/26 budget was released in March 2025 and showed the ODA budget rising slightly to AUD5.1 billion ( US$3.4 billion). This was a small decline in real terms over the 2024-2025 development budget and represents an estimated 0.18% ODA/GNI in 2026.

How is Australian ODA allocated?

Australia has a strong focus on bilateral support. This includes both bilateral ODA and earmarked funding through multilaterals. Australia's focus on bilateral support is due to its prioritization of neighboring countries in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also reflective of the government’s focus on promoting national interest and strengthening bilateral relationships.

Funding for the Pacific is almost 40% of the latest ODA budget. This is partly driven by geopolitical concerns over Chinese influence in the region and increased climate spending. In 2025-2026, Australia will deliver a record US$2.2 billion ( US$1.4 billion) in ODA to the Pacific. AUD1.3 billion ( US$855 million) is allocated to Southeast Asia.

Australia tends to disburse its ODA in the form of grants. However, the launch of the AIFFP in 2019 and the extension of loans to Southeast Asia in support of their COVID-19 recovery raised concerns that the previous and current government may be shifting toward more loan-financed infrastructure projects. At the request of the ALP government, DFAT undertook a review of different development financing approaches that might complement Australia’s grant financing and enhance the effectiveness of current financing arrangements in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. This financial review, released in 2023, recommended some sovereign and non-sovereign financing mechanisms that could be used by the Australian government.