Response to the 2026-27 Federal Budget

Please attribute to an Australian Red Cross spokesperson:

Australian Red Cross has welcomed measures in the Federal Budget across social cohesion, resilience, official development and humanitarian assistance, and upholding international humanitarian law in the context of a complex and uncertain global environment.

The focus on national resilience, including national preparedness, critical supply security and infrastructure resilience highlights the critical role of strong communities, and Australian Red Cross will continue to work with government to strengthen preparedness for increasingly complex humanitarian challenges faced nation-wide.

Australian Red Cross welcomes investment in a range of social cohesion measures, including through a package to support communities and tackle extremism, ongoing support to communities impacted by disasters through the continued funding of the Disaster Ready Fund, and measures aimed at skills recognition of migrants.

More broadly, Australian Red Cross also acknowledges the Commonwealth Government’s continued focus on strengthening resilience and stability in our region, particularly across the Indo-Pacific. This includes an ongoing commitment to maintaining Official Development Assistance as well as to upholding international humanitarian law and protecting humanitarian personnel.

Australian Red Cross looks forward to considering the Budget in more detail, particularly measures related to disaster preparedness and response, migration and skills recognition, aged care, the increased costs of service delivery and ongoing ways to ensure humanitarian funding as part of further investments in Defence.

We welcome the opportunity to continue working with the Australian Government to support people in need, strengthen social cohesion and resilience, and respond to emergencies at home and abroad.