Australian Agency for International Development
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Preceding agencies |
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| Headquarters | Canberra, ACT, Australia |
| Employees | 1,652 (at April 2013) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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| Website | DFAT, Australian Aid |
Australian Aid is the Australian Government agency responsible for managing Australia's overseas aid program. Australian Aid provides advice and support to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, presently Julie Bishop, on development policy, and planned and coordinated poverty reduction activities in partnership with developing countries.
Prior to 31 October 2013 it was an executive agency under the name AusAID (the Australian Agency for International Development) but was integrated into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The objective of the current aid program is to assist developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development, in line with Australia's national interest. AusAID was an independent agency under the Financial Management and Accountability Act, part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for the purposes of the Public Service Act which covers human resources and non-financial accountability. AusAID's head office was in Canberra. AusAID had representatives in 25 Australian diplomatic missions overseas.
The agency saw a variety of names and formats. It was founded in 1974 under the Whitlam Labor government as the Australian Development Assistance Agency (ADAA) to fulfill a role that had previously been the responsibility of several departments. It was renamed the Australian Development Assistance Bureau (ADAB) and brought under the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio in 1976 under the Fraser Liberal government. It became the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB) under the Hawke government in 1987, before being given its current name by the Keating government in 1995.
It also saw repeated cuts to aid contributions during its lifetime, as the level of 0.47% of gross domestic product during the Whitlam years was slashed to 0.33% under the Hawke and Keating governments, and has at times been even lower under the Howard government. Cuts have not been limited to aid levels either; in mid-1996, the Howard government slashed the agency's running costs budget by 24% amidst a round of cost-cutting measures.
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