Actions taken:
Since Australia’s first disability inclusive development strategy was launched in 2009, the Australian Government has demonstrated commitment to disability inclusive development and humanitarian programming. In 2023, Australia launched a new International Development Policy (IDP) which included a key commitment to support all people to fulfill their potential, including through new international strategies for gender equality, and disability equity and rights. Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in Australia, Asia and the Pacific region were consulted extensively as the policy was developed. Disability indicators focused on ensuring participation and access for people with disabilities are embedded in the Investment Performance Reporting process for all Australian development and humanitarian investments.
According to the 2022-23 Performance of Australian Development Cooperation report, 50 per cent of investments effectively addressed disability equity in implementation. On the first of two disability indicators, which measures the extent to which investments actively involved people with disabilities and OPDs, our overall rating for all development and humanitarian investments in 2022-2023 was 39 per cent “satisfactory” or above. The rating was 80 per cent in the case of Disaster Risk Reduction related investments. Areas requiring improvement include ensuring meaningful participation by people with disabilities and OPDs in all stages of programming, and greater consideration of intersectionality and inclusion of people with a range of disabilities.
In 2022–23, the Australian Government’s official development assistance expenditure on disability inclusion was AUD115.9 million, an increase of 6 per cent over the last reporting period. This is the largest amount spent by the Australian Government internationally on disability inclusion since 2014–15.
To increase program quality and performance on disability equity and rights, we continue to increase specialist advisory support and develop the capability of Australian Government staff. Disability Inclusive Humanitarian Action training (DIHA) highlights the importance of applying IASC Guidelines.
Since 2019, Australia has supported humanitarian programs and projects that enhance the voice of persons with disabilities in the program cycle and international forums. Examples include:
- The Australian Red Cross (ARC) – DFAT Humanitarian Partnership (2019-2024, AUD50 million) strengthens Red Cross National Societies to deliver effective and inclusive disaster risk management in nine countries in our region. The partnership provides training and works with OPDs to support observance of IFRC standards and the mainstreaming of disability-inclusive disaster preparedness and response by National Societies. It has provided training to support inclusion of people with disabilities in emergency shelter management and improve collection and use of disability disaggregated data.
- The Australian Humanitarian Partnership AUD50 million Disaster READY program (2017-27, AUD100 million) is designed to strengthen disaster preparedness in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, PNG and Timor-Leste. It is underpinned by five core objectives, including ensuring that the rights and needs of people with disabilities are being met in disaster preparedness and response at all levels. The Disaster READY program uses specific indicators and disaggregated data requirements to track progress on disability inclusion.
- The Australian Government hosted the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Brisbane in Oct 2022, which prioritised inclusive DRR and enabled 63 people with disabilities from the Asia and Pacific regions to attend.
