An international aid organisation with a focus on high-impact localised campaigns, CARE has been a leading name in the fight against poverty for over 80 years. With the organisation’s extensive network of humanitarian activists, corporate partners, and NGOs, CARE is also able to set up emergency relief funds with great efficiency, helping CARE Australia establish support in the frontline across some of the globe’s most pressing disaster zones.
With their global network managing highly localised campaigns, Australians looking to make a meaningful contribution to aid efforts worldwide can donate to CARE with full confidence that their funds will support much-needed humanitarian aid.
Even though we maintain a strong track record spanning 9 decades, we still believe in abiding unwaveringly to our organisational values here at CARE Australia. And one of our core values is to maintain transparency and accountability, recognising these qualities as essential for the ethical operation of any global aid organisation.
So if you still have questions surrounding the work we do and whether CARE Australia is a good charity and a suitable partner to support your global impact either as an individual or via ESG initiatives for your business, then let us provide you with the answers you need.
Here’s everything you need to know about CARE Australia before you collaborate with us.
Table of contents
Who funds CARE Australia?
How much of CARE Australia’s donations goes to charity?
What are CARE Australia’s key focus points?
- Tailored emergency aid funds
- Funding for local health initiatives
- WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) programs
- Fighting hunger and malnutrition
- Climate action for high-risk communities
- Education for women and girls
What are CARE Australia’s main trust factors?
- Organisational longevity
- Accreditation and compliance
- Transparent operating processes
- Humanitarian ethics
- Global reach and impact
Should you give with CARE Australia?
Who funds CARE Australia?
CARE Australia is predominantly funded by donations from the Australian public, including individual consumers and households, community organisations, NGOs, and corporations across the private sector.
As CARE Australia is also a DFAT-accredited partner (“DFAT” referring to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), we do receive some funding from the Australian Government to support their overseas development programs.
CARE Australia also attracts additional funds from not only local but also global NGOs and institutional donors like the United Nations.
How much of CARE Australia’s donations goes to charity?
In the 2024/2025 fiscal year, a total of 87% of CARE Australia’s funding went towards investments in our Development and Resilience Programming. These investments include:
- Funding for localised long-term development programs (incl. logistical costs like resource allocation and program staffing).
- Funding for Emergency and Humanitarian Action (i.e. measures taken to support marginalised populations and/or populations impacted by disasters, conflicts, or economic shocks).
- Funding for disaster readiness and risk-reduction initiatives.
CARE Australia is committed to maintaining transparency about where our money goes, detailing funding totals across specific campaigns, as well as providing extensive overviews on funding and investments in our detailed annual reports.
What are CARE Australia’s key focus points?
At CARE Australia, our work spans across select foci relating to fighting poverty at all levels, ranging from daily lifestyle support to a systemic level covering governance and policy development.
Here are some of the main focus points across their campaigns:
- Tailored emergency aid funds
CARE Australia manages a selection of emergency funds tailored to local communities and their unique needs in the face of an ongoing crisis resulting from natural disasters, conflicts, or economic conditions.
Some of CARE Australia’s current emergency campaigns include their aid efforts focused on the crisis in Gaza, and a dedicated fund for the Ukraine humanitarian crisis.
Explore CARE Australia’s other ongoing emergency aid funds here.
- Funding for local health initiatives
CARE Australia delivers tailored health programs to communities worldwide, addressing common issues like malnutrition, paediatric healthcare, maternal mortality rates, and other women’s health issues in crisis situations.
In providing access to healthcare facilities staffed with medical professionals and stocked with vital supplies, CARE Australia helps alleviate the impacts of ongoing crises on public health in local communities.
- WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) programs
With more than a quarter of the world’s population currently lacking access to clean drinking water, CARE Australia’s food and water aid programs help to combat some of the world’s most avoidable health issues, including chronic health conditions resulting from malnutrition in children, and infections and other illnesses resulting from drinking contaminated water.
CARE Australia also provides hygiene infrastructure accompanying potable water initiatives, delivering holistic ‘WASH’ (water, sanitation, and hygiene) programs to communities that require both short- and long-term solutions.
- Fighting hunger and malnutrition
Breaking the poverty cycle involves ensuring underprivileged communities develop agrarian systems that support food production and prevent food insecurity. Alongside this, CARE Australia also contributes to initiatives like the HATUTAN program in Timor-Leste, which focuses not only on supporting food security, but also on delivering literacy, health, and nutrition programs in primary schools that support school meal systems, hygiene training, and boost educational outcomes.
With citizens across the globe dying of hunger every few seconds according to reporting from the IPC, food and water aid initiatives are an evergreen priority for CARE Australia and its partners.
- Climate action for high-risk communities
Humanitarian initiatives are constantly challenged to develop climate adaptation strategies to ensure long-term efficacy for environmental and ecological solutions. As a result, CARE Australia’s climate campaigns are developed in collaboration with climate organisations, research institutes, and local community leaders to initiate climate action that aligns with the community’s current and projected future needs.
CARE Australia’s unique positioning in the Asia-Pacific region also supports us in delivering tailored climate adaptation programs for Pacific communities. With climate impacts in the Pacific region hitting working women more than any other demographic as according to reporting by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), CARE’s work in the region helps to mitigate the immediate effects of climate change on the most vulnerable citizens living in Pacific communities.
- Education for women and girls
CARE Australia’s work on education and economic development is designed to empower communities from the ground up, focusing on bolstering literacy levels and skills development for young people as a method of cultivating economic resilience.
CARE Australia also delivers education initiatives targeting women and girls in particular, recognising the positive impacts of educating women and girls in the fight against poverty.
What are CARE Australia’s main trust factors?
CARE Australia has garnered a strong reputation for being one of Australia’s most recognisable aid organisations. Our work with DFAT, other public sector organisations, and local and international NGOs helps us cultivate strong, impactful campaigns that deliver strategic, long-lasting results.
Here are some of the strongest trust signals we possess that inspire our donors to continue working with us.
- Organisational longevity
With over 80 years of aid programs, emergency relief funds, and development initiatives under our belt, our donors trust CARE to deliver over the long-term.
- Accreditation and compliance
Alongside being a DFAT-accredited partner, CARE Australia is also a member of industry bodies like ACFID (The Australian Council for International Development) and the FIA (Fundraising Institute of Australia).
- Transparent operating processes
Our annual reports are developed to align with rigorous industry codes, including the ACFID Code of Conduct and Accountable Now.
- Humanitarian ethics
Our values at CARE Australia also underpin our robust ethical and operating policies, spanning from our policy for providing responsible aid programs that actively protect vulnerable people and communities, to our policies relating to donations and donor support.
- Global reach and impact
Our aid programs have been delivered to 120+ countries worldwide, with partner organisations based on virtually every continent. This global reach helps ensure that CARE stays on the frontline wherever our efforts are needed most.
Should you give with CARE Australia?
Overall, CARE Australia has invested extensively in providing leading international aid through the establishment of a diverse network of humanitarian activists, researchers, and partner organisations. CARE’s commitment to demonstrating strong governance, maintaining ethical approaches to aid and emergency funding, and exceptional track record spanning decades of frontline action, position CARE as a leading aid organisation not only in Australia and the Asia-Pacific, but also worldwide.
Make a donation with CARE Australia today, or discover more ways to give as an individual, business owner, or community partner.
