As wealthy countries cut aid, Australia remains far below the UN target for development assistance. Its support for Palestinian statehood is not matched by an adequate humanitarian response to Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories.
In 1970, the United Nations General Assembly called on economically advanced countries to work towards providing at least 0.7 per cent of their gross national income (GNI) in official development assistance. The vast majority of developed nations fall well short of this target. Recent OECD figures indicate that only four countries cleared the 0.7 per cent hurdle: Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark.
This situation has become more acute in recent years. Rich countries are becoming more miserly. In 2025, the aid provided by donor countries and associates that make up the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD fell by 23.1 per cent, the largest single-year drop in the history of official development assistance (ODA). In one of the world’s richest countries, the United States, ODA declined by 56.9 per cent. Humanitarian aid and ODA to cover the costs of refugees within donor countries also fell by 35.8% and 22.1%, respectively.
So how does Australia shape up? Rather poorly, it seems. Australia’s contribution has dropped shamefully to 0.18 per cent of GNI in 2025, well below the 0.7 per cent target. This equates to $5.097 billion in 2025–26, around 0.65 per cent of federal spending, and compares with Australia’s military spending for the same 2025–26 financial year of $63.2 billion. Our global ranking is 24th out of 32 OECD/DAC donor countries.
These serious declines attracted criticism from the OECD DAC chair Carsten Staur, who said on 9 April 2026: “We are in a time of increasing humanitarian needs; strong pressures on the poorest and most fragile countries; and facing growing global uncertainties and massive insecurity. In this situation, the world needs more ODA, not less – to help fight extreme poverty, improve resilience and mobilise more private resources – and also to further the green transition and underpin the multilateral system.”
Responding to the latest OECD DAC figures, Oxfam’s Didier Jacobs said:
“At a time where aid cuts are already driving instability and fostering greater inequality, government donors are cutting life-saving aid budgets while financing conflict and militarisation…Governments must restore their aid budgets and shore up the global humanitarian system that faces its most serious crisis in decades. There are other ways to find tens of billions, such as by taxing the $2.84 trillions of dollars that the super-rich hide in tax havens.”
What does this mean for Australian government aid to Palestine?
In July 2026, the total Australian humanitarian commitment for civilians affected in Gaza and Lebanon was over $130 million. These funds were given mostly through multilateral organisations such as UNRWA, the World Food Program, UNICEF and the UN Population Fund, as well as through the World Bank to the Palestinian Fund for Reconstruction and Development, to the ICRC and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) for field hospitals. This compares to the $1.9 billion given in total support (the majority military) for Ukraine since the full-scale invasion there began in 2022.
In 2021, the Morrison Government suspended the Australia Middle East NGO Cooperation Agreement (AMENCA) Program. The program had been providing economic and livelihood opportunities for rural communities since 2005. It had a particular focus on the engagement of women.
In times of acute emergency, funds are also raised by international NGOs through the multi-agency Emergency Action Alliance (EAA) appeal for assistance to Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Other agencies outside the EAA, such as Union Aid Abroad APHEDA, also raise substantial funds for Gaza.
In spite of the dire situation in Gaza, and with an estimated 100,000 Gazans having fled their country, the Australian government’s temporary humanitarian stay visa for eligible Palestinians is offered on a case-by-case basis. Only those with an invitation from the Minister can apply for the visa. The latest figures available from Asylum Insight are from 2024: “Approximately 1,300 Palestinians fleeing Gaza have arrived in Australia since the conflict began on 7 October 2023, mostly on tourist visas. As of 12 August 2024, the government has rejected approximately 7,000 visa applications from Palestinians, with around 2,922 applications approved. The government has granted approximately 8,746 visas to Israeli citizens and rejected 235 visa applications over the same period.”
Just looking at these facts, it is clear that the Labor government’s support for a Palestinian state has not been matched by anything like an adequate response to the horrific situation in Gaza with its ongoing genocide, and the rapid dismantling of the West Bank by settlers and the IDF.
We can only ask, with considerable shame and anger, why?
Helen McCue
Dr Helen McCue AM is a former United Nations consultant, working in the Middle East with refugees and displaced. Dr McCue has been a strong advocate for Palestinian human rights including the rights of Palestinian refugees for over 40 years. She is co-founder of Union Aid Abroad APHEDA and co-founder of Rural Australia for Refugees (RAR). Dr McCue is the 2024 recipient of the Jerusalem Peace Prize.