HumanTrafficking.org | Australia Government Agency: Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)

A web resource for combating human trafficking

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Australia

Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)

Address

AusAID
PO Box 887
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Australia

Contact Information

If calling from Australia:

Tel: 02 6202 4000
Fax: 02 6206 4880

If calling from overseas:

Tel: +61 2 6202 4000
Fax: +61 2 6206 4880

Website

http://www.ausaid.gov.au

Email

infoausaid@ausaid.gov.au

Alternate Address

62 Northbourne Avenue
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Australia

Activities

AusAID administers Australia’s overseas aid program. The objective of the AID program is to advance Australia’s national interest by assisting developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development.

AusAID has works with South-East Asian partners to combat trafficking and child sex tourism by addressing a range of areas including care and support for victims and law enforcement. Some examples are:

According to the 2005/2006 AusAid Annual report a range of anti-people trafficking activities, including a three-year, $12 million initiative on regional cooperation to prevent people trafficking, have reduced the impunity of trafficking offenders and secured justice for victims.
AUS$8.5 million to the Asia Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking Project (ARCPPT). The Project aims to strengthen regional cooperation and legal policy frameworks and build national and regional capacity to prevent trafficking in women and children. It will initially focus on activities in Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand. The program commenced in April 2003.
AUS$1 million to support the United Nations Development Programme Inter-agency Project on Trafficking in Women and Children (UNIAP) which aims to reduce the incidence of trafficking in the Mekong sub-region (Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam). Funding for this program commenced in May 1999, and funding ended in April 2004.
AUS$4.7 million for the implementation of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) project Return and Integration of Trafficked Persons in the Mekong Region. The project has established systematic and sustainable cross-border working arrangements for return and reintegration of trafficked victims, especially vulnerable women and children in Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Viet Nam and Yunnan Province of China. Funding commenced September 2000; completion of funding from AusAID due 2004. A contribution of AUS$0.66 million to Phase 2 of this project is under negotiation.
AUS$0.35 million provided to Childwise Australia (previously ECPAT) to prevent child abuse in ASEAN tourism destinations. The objective is to develop regional international standards and tourism industry guidelines on the protection of children from sexual exploitation in tourist destinations. Funding commenced April 2002; completion of funding in April 2004.
AUS$0.5 million has been identified for a new program with the objective of enhancing the capacity of referral agencies to support and reintegrate suspected victims of trafficking who return to their country of origin. This project is currently under negotiation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). AusAID, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the Australian Federal Police and the Office for Women are working together on this project.

The Australian aid program is sensitive to gender concerns. In 2002-2003, the aid program spent AUS$642.8 million on activities that included a gender component, focused on training, community development, health and nutrition, income generation, conflict prevention and peace-building. Activities aim to address violence against women and children including trafficking in women and girls.

In addition to Australia’s overseas aid program, the Australian Government provides ongoing financial support to the International Organization for Migration, an international organization committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.