The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) conducts reviews of the development co-operation efforts of DAC members every five to six years. OECD DAC peer reviews seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of development co-operation policies, programmes and systems, and to promote good development partnerships for greater impact on poverty reduction and sustainable development in developing countries.
As set out in the methodology updated regularly and agreed to by the DAC, peer reviews focus on select areas critical to the quality of a member’s development co-operation. These focus areas are decided in agreement with the member under review, drawing on a self-assessment submitted by the member as well as inputs from key partners. Based on these, staff from the Secretariat and two DAC members designated as peer reviewers conduct interviews with officials and parliamentarians, representatives of civil society, non-government organisations, the private sector and other relevant experts. This is followed by visits to up to two developing partner countries or territories, where the review team meets with the reviewed member’s government representatives, senior officials and representatives of the partner country’s administration, parliamentarians, civil society, the private sector and other development partners. The findings and accompanying recommendations are then discussed during a formal meeting of the DAC prior to finalisation of the report. During the process, the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate provides analytical support and ensures consistency across reviews.
To support learning between DAC members, the report highlights valuable practices from the reviewed member, from which peers can draw inspiration and learning. These are documented in further detail on the Development Co-operation TIPs ∙ Tools Insights Practices peer learning page. Australia’s development co-operation profile includes additional information on Australia’s policies, development financing, institutional arrangements, and management systems.
The analysis presented in this report is based on (1) a desk review, including Australia’s self-assessment and written assessments and inputs provided by more than 35 partners (multilateral organisations, non-government and academic partners as well as partner governments); and (2) an extensive process of consultation with actors and stakeholders in Australia, Timor-Leste, Tonga and the region (listed in Annex C). In sum, more than 120 organisations and external stakeholders were consulted as part of the review. The work was discussed during the meeting of the DAC on 8 December 2025 and revised to integrate comments. It reproduces in the section titled “The DAC’s peer review recommendations to Australia” the recommendations approved by the Committee via written procedure on 12 December 2025.