ACFID's Federal Budget Analysis

ACFID’s Federal Budget analysis was revised and reissued to reflect feedback from members, AusAID and information from the Estimates hearing in June 2010. A summary from the analysis is as follows:

The 2010/11 Aid Budget is titled: A Good International Citizen. ACFID welcomes the increase in Australian overseas development assistance (ODA) to $4.349 million, a $530 million increase from the 2009/10 Aid Budget of $3,818.8 million. This is a real increase of 9% (a 14% nominal increase). The $500 million increase meets the key recommendation of ACFID’s pre-budget submission. Meeting the Millennium Development Goals remains the key focus of the aid program.

The ODA program for 2010/11 translates to 0.33% of Gross National Income (GNI) – an increase from 0.31% of GNI in 2009/10. These figures have been calculated using new international accounting standards, which increase Australian GNI by 4%. At the current rate of increase, the Rudd Government is on track to reach its target of 0.5% of GNI by 2015. ACFID has called on the government to announce a timetable for reaching the UN goal of 0.7% of GNI in the longer term.

The 2010/11 Aid Budget has a number of features of relevance including:

• a 17.9% increase in Australian NGO funding through the ANCP;

• further geographical expansion of the program to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia;

• new funding for disability-inclusive development of $30.2 million over four years – ACFID welcomes this as a ‘first down-payment’ but calls for accelerated funding in future budgets to implement ‘Development for All’ policy;

• apparent decreased funding to health and HIV/AIDS as a sector by 10.6% after inflation;

• no new climate change initiatives for 2010/11 but $160 million to be spent from previously announced commitments (the value of the four multi-year measures announced is $350.4 million, with another $5 million from the current 2009-10 Contingency Reserve flagged in the press release); and

• microfinance funding doubled to $40 million over two years, as ACFID requested; and

• AusAID restructure announced to plan for upscale of aid program by 2015, which will focus on reforms to operational policy, management and workforce planning. The Aid Budget estimates $211.8 million to AusAID departmental costs, a 52.1% increase.

For the full ACFID analysis please visit: http://www.acfid.asn.au//resources/docs_resources/docs_papers/ACFID%20Budget%20Analysis%20revised%20June%202010.pdf