Marc Purcell, what is at the top of your mind this week?

ACFID’s Pre-Budget Submission was submitted to Treasury and DFAT earlier this month. We are calling for:

1. A plan and pathway for Government to reach its commitment to increase ODA to 0.5% of GNI, including meeting the OECD DAC average of 0.37% by the end of 2027.

2. Meeting Australia’s fair share of climate finance, by providing $4bn per year by 2025 in funding new and additional to the existing ODA budget urgent climate mitigation and adaptation, and an initial $100m pledge to the new Loss and Damage Fund ahead of COP29. Climate financing should not displace development funding.

3. We propose reaching these targets by:

• Doubling the humanitarian emergency fund (additional $150m p.a. ongoing) to respond to increasing humanitarian need
• Building a pathway to Australia’s fair share of humanitarian funding (additional $350m p.a. ongoing)
• Making an initial contribution to the Loss and Damage Fund ($100m in 2024-25), in line with what similar economies have already pledged
• Expanding locally led climate adaptation programs (ongoing, with initial investment of $400m over four years)
• Enabling NGO-led impact investment funds ($50m p.a. ongoing window in Australian Development Investments)
• Safeguarding civic space and strengthening civil society ($320m over four years, ongoing)
• Sustained growth to the Australian NGO Cooperation Program – ANCP ($210m additional over four years, ongoing thereafter)
• Supporting inclusion, rights and equality for all – targeted boosts to the Inclusion and Equality Fund, Gender Equality Fund, and the Central Disability Fund ($63.6m additional p.a. ongoing).

I also draw your attention to the substance of ACFID’s call for a substantial increase in ANCP in the section below.  

To Action

2024 Lobbying Round Key Dates

A reminder that ACFID’s CEO lobbying round will be from the 18-20^th March at Parliament House. Please remind your agency CEOs, we would love to see you all in Canberra. Meeting invitations are being sent out, and we will be in touch as meetings are confirmed. If you have any questions about the lobbying round process, please contact ACFID’S Policy & Government Relations Lead Dr Alex Edney- Browne at [email protected]

To Attend

DPPs (DFAT’s New Country Strategy Process): An Update

In follow up to the ACFID Connect, ‘an introduction to DPPs’, in November 2023, this will be an update of what has been further communicated by DFAT to ACFID, by Stephanie Rowbottom (Policy and Advocacy Officer at ACFID) and Jess Mackenzie (Chief of Policy and Advocacy at ACFID). An opportunity to ask questions and share information. We may not be able to answer all questions, but we will try. The DPP process is largely devolved to country and regional desks, so it is varying significantly from country to country.

Date: Wednesday 28^th February

Time: 9.30 -10.30am

Registrations here

To Note

Investing in our regions health

ACFID welcomes the recent announcement made by the Australian Government to support health systems strengthening in Papua New Guinea. The announcement is funded through the Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, (which ACFID strongly welcomed last year).

Read our social media welcoming the announcement here

To Attend

Global Citizen Festival 4-6^th March 2024 & Safer World for all launch

Learn more about the event here.

To Note

Ukraine war two-year anniversary

As the two-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine approaches, ACFID remains deeply horrified at the humanitarian situation. ACFID will issue a response ahead of the anniversary on Saturday 24^th February, and encourage your agencies to do so.

To Action

Sign on to the Joint Call for disability equity

The Australian Disability Development Consortium and ACFID invite your organisation to join the Joint Call for action for the Australian Government’s forthcoming disability equity and rights strategy to be ambitious and resourced. The joint statement includes a call for targets and resourcing for disability equity in Australia’s development program. If your organisation would like to support and add its logo to the Joint Call, please contact [email protected]

To Action

Australian Disability and Development Consortium: petition for the International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy

The Australian Disability and Development Consortium invite you to sign and share this [http:// https://www.addc.org.au/disability-equity/]petition urging the Australian Government to develop a robust International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy. People with disabilities remain among the most marginalised in any setting and experience exclusion in all aspects of society. This petition calls for the Strategy to be ambitious, accountable and resourced to elevate the priorities of people with disabilities in Australia’s region and beyond.

To Note

ACFID submission to the Australian Government’s LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Strategy

ACFID has drafted a submission to shape the Australian Government’s LGBTQIA+ Human Rights Strategy. Read the submission in full here

To Note

Code of Conduct Committee update

The ACFID Code of Conduct Committee (CCC) are custodians of the ACFID Code of Conduct. In February the CCC welcomed two new members, Lauren Hallett (Elected member, Femili PNG Australia) and Batya Atlas (Programs and Partnerships Specialist). Communiques of each CCC meeting are produced so that ACFID’s members can read and understand the work of the Committee.

Read the Communique from their recent meeting in February.

To Attend

AP4D Dialogue: Supporting Pacific Regionalism

Speaking in French Polynesia in October 2022, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that “Our region can navigate our shared challenges best when we do it together, through organisations like the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community and technical agencies.”

Join us for this interactive dialogue to explore how Australia can be a supportive and invested partner of Pacific regionalism, contributing to stability and prosperity across all its tools of statecraft. Discussions will focus on the challenges and opportunities that exist and Australia’s role in addressing regional priorities.

Who: Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue
When: Wednesday 28 February
Time: 1 – 2pm (AEDT)
Where: Online – register here via Zoom

To Attend

Webinars on Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity for NFPs

A series of upcoming webinars focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cybersecurity for NFPs, hosted by Infoxchange and the Digital Transformation Hub, will provide valuable insights and practical knowledge to assist our members in the complexities of AI and improving your cybersecurity practices. Find the courses here and here 

To Attend

Upcoming Events

Food for thought The pace of acceleration of disaster impacts is outstripping the dominant response-based strategy of the international humanitarian system. Even within the resources that are available, which have been growing, the allocation mechanism does not work fairly or efficiently in targeting those most impacted and most in need of additional assistance, contributing to growing inequality and a failure to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.” Read more in Oxfam Australia’s latest discussion paper Failing Those Most at Risk. It can be accessed in full here.

ACFID’s media team is updating our Digital Image Library and contact list. We kindly request our members to contact [email protected] and contribute additional images and updated contact details.

Get In Contact We’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions and queries about The ACFID Weekly. Would you like to see your organisation featured? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Email us at [email protected]

ACFID’s media team is updating our Digital Image Library and contact list. We kindly request our members to contact [email protected] and contribute additional images and updated contact details.