ODA Spending

How much ODA does Australia allocate to education?

Australia was the 15^th-largest DAC donor to education in 2023 and spending on education represented 6% of total ODA in 2023, both declines from 2022.

How is Australian educational ODA changing?

The government is likely to maintain education spending over time.

As is the case across sectors, Australia favors bilateral spending for education.

How does Australia allocate educational ODA?

Bilateral Spending

Australia sees investments in the education of children and young people, particularly girls and children with disabilities, as central to poverty reduction.

Australia was also an important contributor to GPE. Funding for GPE is considered earmarked funding through multilaterals. Recent pledges are listed in the table below.

Multilateral Spending and Commitments

Australia’s core funding to multilaterals made up just 4.9% of its ODA to education in 2023, well below the DAC average.

Australia partners with various education-related initiatives focused on researching education systems and quality. These include the RISE, which received US$8 million from Australia between 2016-2020 and ECW, which received US$7 million for 2017 to 2020. In 2021, Australia pledged US$137 million to GPE, but has not made any significant multilateral contributions since.

The table below summarizes Australia’s recent commitments to multilaterals working on education.

Funding & Policy Outlook

What is the current government's outlook on educational ODA?

Education is not a major theme in current ODA policy.

Key Bodies