Policy Updates

On March 26, 2024, DFAT listed guidance on good practice in assessing the gender equality outcome of activities, including the guideline that all Australian development assistance investments over AUD3 million (US$2 million) have to include a statement of gender equality outcome.

The guidelines use the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee's gender equality policy marker to determine if the investment targets gender equality as a significant or primary objective. Guidance also covered gender mainstreaming, climate change, and disability implications.

The guidelines also included recommendations for drafting and designing for better outcomes from projects in gender equality.

On March 5, 2024, South Korea and Australia renewed their MOU on development cooperation since its first signing in 2019.

The renewed MOU outlined an institutional framework for cooperation on new bilateral development cooperation policies, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and sectors (gender equality, climate change, humanitarian assistance, etc.), and strengthening of cooperation mechanisms. In particular, the document set out guidelines for Director General level-biennial meetings of Development Cooperation Policy Council.

The updated agreement is expected to further strengthen cooperation between South Korea and Australia to contribute to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

On February 8, 2024, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape visited Australia for the 5^th Papua New Guinea – Australia Annual Leaders’ Dialogue to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and discuss, amongst other topics, ODA issues.

Papua New Guinea is the largest recipient of Australian ODA. The two prime ministers discussed Papua New Guinea’s budget repair plans and fiscal situation, with Marape welcoming budget support from Australia to assist with budget shortfalls. Marape also addressed Australia’s parliament during his visit.

They noted the importance of continued support for agriculture to improve supply and quality, especially to provide continued support for women. Marape and Albanese also discussed Australia’s assistance to Papua New Guinea’s national road network and 30-year master plan for port rehabilitation.

The leaders pledged to act in response to Papua New Guinea’s need for more reliable green energy. Australia has provided US$150 million to upgrade and repair major energy assets, including refurbishing the Ramu 1 hydroelectric power station.

Marape also noted Australia’s assistance in completing new solar farms in Bougainville and West Sepik, Papua New Guinea. Separately, small energy projects in Papua New Guinea are being funded by Australia through the Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership. Australian ODA has also been provided to improve education and support health services aimed at tuberculosis and malaria, as well as MNCH.

On February 1, 2024, New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, met in Sydney to discuss partnering in the Pacific.

The two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the Pacific Islands Forum as the key regional architecture for the Pacific. They would support the Pacific’s advocacy in multilateral fora for Pacific interests.

Pacific Forum leaders had established that climate change was the single greatest threat to the Pacific, including people’s livelihoods, well-being, and security.

The ministers agreed on the need to appropriately support the Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration. They also committed to work together to ensure the viability across the Pacific of retail banking for investment, remittance flows, and regional trade.

Their joint statement noted that Samoa was to host the October 2024 CHOGM, making this the first occasion that the CHOGM had been hosted by a Pacific country.

On January 17, 2024, the first sessions for the upcoming WHS Regional meeting were announced, including sessions on climate change, First People’s health, accelerating net-zero healthcare, fighting cervical cancer, and preventing violence against women in the Pacific.

The Regional Meeting is slated to focus on shaping the future of health across the Pacific and Asia. The meeting will run from April 22-24, 2024, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

In addition to senior health academics, the meeting will be addressed by Australian Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney and former New Zealand Prime Minister and former UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.

On December 19, 2023, Head of the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University Sonia Palmieri wrote a criticism noting existing issues with Australian gender projects.

Palmieri recommended reducing compartmentalization of gender equality programming. Programs should be intersected with partner programs countering violence against women and to developing women’s roles in leadership and decision-making.

Palmieri also noted that women’s engagement in the programs could also be increased by adopting a broader definition of leadership beyond political positions and focusing on discourse and social networking in program design.

Separately, Terence Wood of the Development Policy Centre, Canberra, undertook a qualitative review of outcomes from Australia’s gender-focused assistance projects.

Wood concluded that gender-focused projects achieved outcomes beneficial to women, as expected. Australia has prioritized gender issues for the past 15 years.

A smaller percentage of Australian assistance projects had a gender focus in the Pacific than in other parts of the world. Wood noted surprise at this outcome, given that challenging gender-focused issues in the Pacific had been regularly documented in previous ODA projects.

Wood expressed concern about the fact that Australian assistance projects were less likely to have a focus on gender equality where the empowerment of women was lower, although he caveated the results of the study with acknowledging his use of proxy measures.

On November 22, 2023, Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy announced AUD37 million (US$24 million) to enable a second phase of UNFPA's Transformative Agenda for Women, Youths, and Adolescents program.

The funding is slated to cooperate with nine Pacific governments over five years to improve regional SRHR services. Australia has previously funded existing programs to assist UNFPA suppliers and International Planned Parenthood Federation activities.

On November 17, 2023, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong pledged AUD13 million (US$8 million) to improve access to cervical cancer treatments, vaccination, and screening expertise under Australia’s Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, focused primarily on Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

In low- and middle-income countries, women and girls face rates of cervical cancer up to 13 times greater than those experienced in Australia. Certain demographics, such as women living with HIV, have a chance of dying from cervical cancer up to six times greater than average.

Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney also announced the Australian government’s national strategy for the elimination of cervical cancer in Australia. The strategy was developed in conjunction with the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer.

The strategy includes 70% coverage of five-year cervical cancer screening of those aged 25 to 74. It also aimed to provide HPV vaccination to 90% of boys so that all children are safe from HPV.

On October 10, 2023, the heads of the NGOs International Women’s Development Agency, Children by Choice, and Ipas called on the Australian government to ensure that its support of SRHR access includes access to abortion.

DFAT has invested in SRHR programs in 22 countries in the Indo-Pacific region and is currently developing a new Australian new gender equality policy. The NGO heads called on DFAT to prioritize abortion access as a component of a broader approach to ensuring gender equality. They asserted that Australia has long been a champion of SRHR access in multilateral agreements and needs to maintain this support in the face of recent international backlash against access to abortion.

All Australian states and territories have decriminalized abortion and removed barriers to abortion services.

On August 8, 2023, Australia Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy released Australia’s new international development policy.

The announcement marked the first new major development policy statement for a decade. Australia committed in particular to a strong climate change focus and emphasized social inclusion, locally-led development and gender equality. The new policy is focused on a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Other regions were addressed infrequently.

The policy also recognized the importance of incorporating First Nation leadership and input into the development program for the first time.

Specific announcements within the policy included a new Civil Society Partnerships Fund to increase the strength of civil society. A new long-term target introduced the goal of ensuring that 80% of new programs with a budget over AUD3 million (US$2 million) include a climate change objective.

Australia also recommitted to its focus on the SDGs. However, the policy document contained no concrete indication of future aid volume.

Civil society generally welcomed the new development policy, but experts have voiced concerns on the lack of broader global objectives and specific measures on poverty.