Today, the Australian Council for International Development warmly welcomes a new online tool from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) providing greater transparency of Australia’s Official Development Assistance. 

The peak body further welcomes a commitment by DFAT to re-commence reporting to the International Aid Transparency Initiative after its previous annual reporting ceased in 2019, leading Australia to plummet in world transparency rankings.

The new AusDevPortal provides details on over 900 projects funded by DFAT in 2022-2023, including their total estimated value, location, start and end dates, flow type, implementation partners, and corresponding policy markers and sustainable development goals. 

“The new AusDevPortal synthesizes a large volume of data that had been hiding away in inaccessible databases not easy to use by the public. This new tool significantly improves accessibility and transparency and will allow civil society to more effectively engage with Australia’s international development program,” said ACFID’s Policy and Government Relations Lead, Dr. Alex Edney-Browne.

Yesterday’s launch of the AusDevPortal sees DFAT deliver on a key commitment in its 2023 International Development Policy announced alongside other measures designed to increase transparency, such as annual reporting on the performance of Australia’s international development program. 

“ACFID congratulates DFAT for delivering on its transparency commitments and looks forward to improvements of the Portal over time that would provide higher quality data,” said Dr. Edney-Browne. 

“In particular, the sector would like to access data that DFAT collects on the value of projects being counted towards Australia’s climate finance contributions, as well as the percentage of funding going to various implementation partners to see how much is reaching NGOs and local civil society organisations,” said Dr. Edney-Browne. 

Data from 2023-2024 is expected to be published on the Portal in the first half of 2025, with annual publication thereafter expected to align with the International Aid Transparency Initiative reporting cycle.  

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact ACFID Media on 0401 721 064 or [email protected]