Title page 1

Contents 6

Foreword 4

Acknowledgements 5

Abbreviations and acronyms 8

Executive summary 10

The DAC's recommendations to Australia 12

Findings 16

Context of the review 17

Fit-for-purpose systems in a time of rapid change 20

Australia as a global actor 34

Enabling partner and locally led development 43

Supporting stability, peace and equality 51

Scaling up innovative finance and investments in infrastructure 63

References 72

Notes 84

Annex A. Progress against the 2018 peer review recommendations 95

Annex B. Progress against OECD legal instruments under responsibility of the DAC 98

References 106

Annex C. Organisations consulted 107

Tables 7

Table 1. Australia's refreshed performance and delivery framework 28

Table 2. Summary of Australia's main blended finance mechanisms 64

Figures 6

Figure 1. Australia's bilateral ODA is heavily focused on Asia and Oceania 18

Figure 2. Oversight and delivery of Australia's international development co-operation 19

Figure 3. While ODA and DFAT's departmental budget are steady, the Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio departmental budget is declining 23

Figure 4. As a share of national income, ODA remains below earlier levels and Australia's peers 24

Figure 5. Most of Australia's TOSSD funding supports the ADF, Police and Home Affairs 25

Figure 6. Australia's core contributions to multilateral organisations have fallen compared to 2018 36

Figure 7. Earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations target Asia and Oceania 37

Figure 8. Use of budget support has increased while core support to non-state actors has declined 44

Figure 9. Australia's evolving support for peace: Trends in ODA allocation since 2013 53

Figure 10. Australia's reporting against the gender equality and disability policy markers 58

Figure 11. ODA that targets biodiversity has declined significantly 61

Figure 12. Operating model of the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific 66

Boxes 7

Box 1. Treaties: A growing approach to balancing development and geopolitical objectives? 22

Box 2. Delivering on dual objectives: The Pacific-Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme 39

Box 3. Supporting financial inclusion: Lowering the cost of remittances and tackling debanking 40

Box 4. Australia's use of budget support advances partner-led development 45

Box 5. Measuring progress: Australia's locally led development indicators 47

Box 6. Supporting local organisations to advance gender equality and disability inclusion 48

Box 7. Cyber connectivity in the Pacific: Development, security and strategic infrastructure 52

Box 8. An integrated approach to security sector assistance: Police co-operation in the Indo-Pacific 54

Box 9. Australia supports the rights and inclusion of people with disability 60

Box 10. Local content in infrastructure investments in the Pacific 67

Box 11. Sustainable procurement in Australia's development spending 68

Infographics 7

Infographic 1. Highlights from the 2025 Development Co-operation Peer Review of Australia 14

Infographic 2. Australia's development co-operation at a glance 15

Annex Figures 7

Figure B.1. Breakdown of untied ODA contracts awarded by Australia by origin of supplier, 2019-2023 99