Australia’s aid budget must grow to support women around the world

Australia’s aid budget must grow to support women around the world

The Albanese Government handed down its 2025 – 2026 federal budget yesterday, revealing a modest increase to Australia’s spending on international aid this year. At a time when governments around the world are dramatically cutting aid budgets, it’s encouraging to see Australia standing by its aid program.

However, urgent funding is needed to prevent a backsliding in poverty and inequality as women in low-income countries bear the brunt of escalating climate disasters, rising conflict and a surging cost of living crisis.  ActionAid has urged Australia to step up and increase international aid to at least 1% of the federal budget. We are disappointed that the Government has not risen to the challenge – rather, Australian aid has fallen from 0.68% to 0.65% of government spending.

We are particularly concerned that Australia’s International Gender Equality Strategy has not been backed up with the funding it needs. Gender equality is increasingly under threat globally, amid an alarming and coordinated global pushback on the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ people. This has been compounded by governments around the world walking away from commitments to gender equality.

We welcome the $25 million in funding for Pacific crisis centres to respond to sexual and gender-based violence and the additional $1 million for the Gender Equality Fund. But if we are to push forward in the face of an intensifying backlash against the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ peoples, and stem the deterioration in gender equality, we need rapid, targeted and sustained funding for gender equality.

In light of the new post-2025 climate finance goal that was agreed at COP29, ActionAid looks forward to the release of Australia’s new international climate finance target. While Australia is on track to achieve its current target of $3 billion over 2020-25, this is well below our international fair share and escalating global need. We look forward to working with the Government to support the establishment of a new climate finance goal that responds to the scale and urgency of the climate crisis across the Pacific region and delivers critical funding to women and other marginalised communities on the frontlines of climate destruction.

Michelle Higelin, Executive Director of ActionAid Australia, said:

“We’re glad to see Australia standing by its aid program. But at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions and huge aid cuts in the US and countries across Europe, now is the time for Australia to show global leadership and support its neighbours by increasing its aid budget, to at least 1% of the federal budget.

“We need a stronger focus on funding for programs that directly support women’s empowerment and shift harmful gender norms. We’re seeing a pushback on women’s rights globally, and at the rate we’re going gender equality is 300 years away. It’s women in the world’s poorest countries who will continue to suffer the most, in terms of food security, gender-based violence, and the impact of climate disasters.

“The climate crisis is the biggest risk to human security, and women and children are 14 times more likely to die in a climate disaster. Without more funding to these areas, women will continue to be left behind.”

ActionAid Australia is part of a coalition of Australian international development organisations in the Safer World For All campaign, which aims to shift government policy to achieve a minimum 1% of the federal budget for overseas aid.