The Australian Government invested $567.8 million in education in 2022-23, enabling more than 248,000 additional children and adolescents to enrol in school, according to the Performance of Australian Development Cooperation Report 2022–23 released earlier this month.
The release of the Performance of Australian Development Cooperation (PADC) Report follows one of the Australian Government’s key commitments in the August 2023 International Development Policy to publish an annual report to enhance accountability of the development program. The inaugural PADC Report summarises the performance of Australia’s development cooperation from July 2022 to June 2023, and outlines early progress in implementing the International Development Policy’s Performance and Delivery Framework.
One of the flagships of Australia’s education ODA is the Australia Awards scholarships program, administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Australia Awards provides opportunities for people from developing countries, particularly those countries located in the Indo-Pacific region, to undertake full time undergraduate or postgraduate study at participating Australian universities and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions.
In 2022–23, 1,630 new Australia Awards (both long- and short-term) were offered, with a total of 2,393 students studying on long-term scholarships at Australian and Pacific tertiary institutions. Since 2020, the successful completion rate of Australia Awards has averaged 97 per cent.
The Australia Awards Fellowships program recommenced in 2023 after being paused in 2017, targeting mid-career and senior leaders, with $11.1 million in grants awarded to 36 Australian host organisations across six priority themes. The program offered Fellowship placements in Australia in 2023 to 694 mid-career professionals from Asia, Pacific, Europe and Africa.
Women, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, people living in rural areas and members of socio-economically disadvantaged groups are encouraged to apply and participate in the Australia Awards. In 2022–23, 59 per cent of students were female and 78 awardees received disability support through Australia Awards entitlements and case management advisory services.
The education component of Australia’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) program is in direct support of Sustainable Development Goal 4 – quality education – and contributed to the achievement of other SDGs, including Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls (SDG5).
The full report, available here, also includes:
- the performance indicators for the whole of the development program
- summaries of the performance of country and regional development programs
- summaries of the results and achievements of Australia’s major global programs and partnerships
- performance data for the following sectors: economic infrastructure and services; agriculture, trade and other production services; governance; education; health; humanitarian assistance and disaster risk reduction; and multisector and general support.
