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Approaches to Anti Corruption through the Australian Aid Program
The Office of Development Effectiveness’s assessment of approaches to anti-corruption in the Australian aid program aims to provide practical advice for AusAID and other Australian Government agencies to integrate anti-corruption objectives into their aid approaches.
AusAID requires that country strategies include country-specific anti-corruption action plans. The assessment recommends the starting point for these plans should be the priorities and plans of partner governments. Where there is no partner government strategy, the assessment notes that Australia cannot afford to wait for one to emerge before developing its own. These should be founded on strong understanding of the country’s institutions, extent and types of corruption, cultural and other factors.
The assessment recommends discussions with partner countries should focus on improving development effectiveness and not fighting corruption for its own sake. The principal objective must always be poverty reduction or achievement of the MDGs, and the intermediate objectives must be improved service delivery and greater accountability to the public. A sharper focus on accountability for results can help to create the right incentives and promote reforms. When working with partner government systems, strategies need to be put in place to strengthen and protect all expenditures. This is best achieved through working closely with partner governments and other donors. In parallel with this, robust internal measures should be in place to protect Australian funds.
The assessment provides an introduction to the causes of corruption and lessons from other donors' attempts to deal with it. Country visits were made to two countries where Australia is most advanced in developing anti-corruption plans Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. The team compiled case studies of activities that had an anti-corruption objective or the potential to reduce corruption. Themes from country visits and the case studies are analysed in Chapters 2 and 3 of the report and recommendations are made on how to approach drafting and implementing an anti-corruption action plan.
See the Approaches to Anti Corruption through the Australian Aid Program Report [PDF 380KB] and the Manager’s Guide to Anti-Corruption Strategies Fact Sheet [PDF 37KB]