The future of Australian aid

The future of Australian aid

From Development Futures by Lowy Institute

February 17, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of global aid cuts on Australia's development efforts and the future direction of its aid program.

It has been just over a year since the Trump administration's dramatic cuts to America's foreign aid budget and the shuttering of USAID. With other major donors also slashing their aid programs — potentially causing 22 million additional avoidable deaths by 2030 — what does this mean for Australia's development efforts? A new OECD review of Australia's aid program provides a timely opportunity to assess the health and future direction of Australian development assistance. The Lowy Institute’s Roland Rajah and Grace Stanhope are joined by Cameron Hill from the Development Policy Centre at the Australian National University and Bridi Rice, CEO of Development Intelligence Lab, to discuss the global aid landscape, Australia's comparative advantage in the region, and the tensions between short-term transactional wins and long-term transformational development. More episodes of the Lowy Institute's podcasts are available on your favourite podcast apps, including  Spotify , YouTube  and  Apple . Follow the Lowy Institute on our  website ,  X , Instagram  or  LinkedIn . Follow Roland Rajah on X and LinkedIn . Follow Grace Stanhope on…

People in this episode

Hosts: Roland Rajah, Grace Stanhope

Guests: Cameron Hill, Bridi Rice

Topics covered

  • Australian aid
  • foreign aid
  • development assistance
  • global aid landscape
  • OECD review
  • transactional wins
  • transformational development

Keywords

  • Australian aid
  • foreign aid
  • OECD review
  • development assistance
  • global aid landscape
  • transactional wins
  • transformational development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Lowy Institute, Development Policy Centre, Development Intelligence Lab, OECD

Places: Australia, America

More episodes of Development Futures

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Development Futures podcast page.