The Weekly

This week, ACFID has been focused on the development of our next 5 year strategic plan – with events in Sydney and online (for those who can’t get to the in-person events) that have gathered our members to hear their perspectives first-hand about a variety of emerging strategic questions. There is also an event in Melbourne on Monday night and it is not too late to sign up for that if you want to come.  Email Tamara to register.

This week we heard the news that Australia has lost the bid to host the climate COP31. Over the past couple of years, ACFID has been collaborating with our Pacific Civil Society partners to prepare for COP31. Even though Australia and the Pacific will not co-host the climate conference next year – the work we have done (and will keep doing) to raise the voices of communities impacted by climate change will continue to be championed into COP31.

In addition, ACFID re-launched the 2025 Sudan Consolidated Appeal and released a joint media release endorsed by 21 of ACFID’s humanitarian agencies, raising urgent concerns about the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today – the escalating crisis in Sudan. Members running public appeals and wishing to be listed on the consolidated appeal page are encouraged to reach out to the ACFID team. Details are mentioned below.  

Thank you once again to all members engaging in these important processes and contributing to our shared work.

To Join

Consolidated Appeal Sudan 2025

ACFID has re-launched the previous consolidated appeal after the violence in El Fasher and further declarations of famine in and around Darfur. If your organisation has an emergency appeal and would like to be listed on ACFID’s consolidated appeal, please contact  Sam Crosby at [email protected]  

To Attend

Indo-Pacific NGO Blended Finance Accelerator Workshop – Hybrid Learning Session

Save the Children Australia and DFAT’s Blended Finance and Investor Engagement Unit are hosting a hybrid workshop in Melbourne’s CBD. The session will present best practices directly from Australian NGO leaders on innovative blended financing models. The workshop will run from 10am-12pm and include a working lunch.  

Date: 5 December 2025  

Time: 10:00AM – 12:00PM ( AEDT ) 

Venue: Save the Children Australia – Melbourne Office & online 

Please register here.

To Apply

DFAT DEV+ Panel applications closing 27 November

The application process for DFAT’s DEV+ Panel is currently open and closes on 27 November at 10:00AM (AEDT).

The DEV+ Panel offers DFAT and other government agencies a centralised resource to contract expert support across design, MEL, assurance (due diligence and accreditation, and safeguarding), and procurement (non-legal probity and evaluation). A future phase will cover implementation (management services and specialist advice). The Head Agreement will be for a term of up to 4 years with two extension options up to 3 years each. 

Read more here.

To Note

Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiries

ACFID will be starting the process of consultation for submissions with members in the coming weeks in relation to the following two inquiries; 

– Inquiry into the role of Australia’s international development program in preventing conflict  

– Inquiry into gender equality as a national security and economic security imperative.

For more information, please contact Imogen Harper at [email protected]

To Note

Pre Budget Submission

ACFID is in the process of preparing a Pre-Budget Submission and will engage with members throughout this process. The first stage of discussions happened at the Government Relations meeting yesterday, please contact the Policy and Advocacy team or your government relations representative for more information. 

To Attend

ACFID Connect Session:  Humanitarian Reference Group 

​​Join us as we unveil ACFID’s new Guidance on developing a Locally Led Action Policy – developed with members through our recent Writeshop series. Hear the latest from ACFID’s work in this space, including insights from the Locally Led Action Community of Practice and the Development Practice Committee. We’ll also share findings from members’ Code of Conduct self-assessments and showcase case studies of locally led approaches in action. 

Date:  9 December 2025 

Time: 2:00PM – 3:00PM (AEDT) 

Venue: Online 

Register here.

To Attend

ACFID Finance Community of Practice November Meeting

Join the Finance CoP for their November meeting with technical updates from guest speakers from KPMG and StoneX. If you have a colleague working in finance, please share this opportunity to connect with peers in the sector. Instructions to join CoPs can be found here. 

Date:  26 November 2025 

Time: 9:30AM – 12:00PM (AEDT) 

To Attend

ACFID HR Community of Practice  Meeting

The HR CoP is holding their final meeting of the year next week. This is one not to miss with a guest presentation from Evelyn Moolenburgh of Learning Ventures on “Game Changers: Workforce Planning for the AI Generation”, and an important discussion to further the development of a salary survey that is specific to our sector. We need your input to make this valuable to all size members.

Date:  27 November 2025 

Time: 9:30AM – 12:00PM (AEDT) 

Venue: Online 

The zoom link has been provided in the HR CoP on ACFID’s Collaborate platform. Please contact [email protected] if you are having trouble registering for the HR CoP.

Jobs

Manager – Program Advisory Team | ChildFund Australia | Read more here

Consultants – String Theory

Skills: Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

We work alongside organisations and communities to understand what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve.

We simplify the monitoring and evaluation process so everyone can be part of it.

We seek the views of multiple groups to ensure that as many as possible have a voice.

We don’t just deliver data; we use creative ways to tell the story of a program to ensure findings are meaningful for the intended audiences.

We have decades of experience and have managed over 100 monitoring and evaluation projects across 19 countries. Visit our website to learn more.

Read more here.

Consultants – Athena Board

Exclusive Offer – Transform Your Board & Committee Governance

Athena Board is proud to partner with ACFID to help not-for-profits save time, secure documents,and improve governance.

Trusted by charities, international aid agencies, and community organisations across Australia,Athena Board’s secure platform makes it easy to collate, produce, and share board materials while protecting sensitive information. ISO27001 certified and fully encrypted, it’s built to meet the highest standards of security – at a price designed for the NFP sector.ACFID members receive 10% off Athena Board’s already low NFP rates, giving you a high-performing,low-cost solution to:

• Reduce admin time and streamline meeting preparation

• Strengthen governance and compliance

• Provide directors with tools like digital voting, annotations, conflict registers, and offline access

Upgrade your governance with a platform your board will actually enjoy using. Read more here

Upcoming Events