Australia is a leading supporter of debt transparency.
Accessible information about Australia’s loans to national governments is a critical part of debt sustainability and promotes governance and accountability.
It supports civil society actors and helps international institutions match debt data between creditors and debtors.
G20 operational guidelines
In January 2023, the Australian Government began publishing loan-by-loan information on a single website, in line with best practice under the G20 Operational Guidelines for Sustainable Financing.
The aim of these guidelines is to “enhance access to sound financing for development while ensuring that sovereign debt remains on a sustainable path by fostering information sharing and cooperation among borrowers, creditors and international financial institutions, as well as learning through capacity building.”
Lending entities
Australia lends to other national governments through the following entities:
- Export Finance Australia (EFA)
- Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) - for which EFA is the lender of record
- Bilateral loans under the International Monetary Agreements Act 1947
Reporting
Australia publishes a stock of lending aggregated on a country‑by‑country basis updated on 30 June each year.
Australia updates any new issued sovereign lending on a quarterly basis.
Lending to national governments is reported:
- in the Commonwealth Budget Statement of Risks
- in the National Interest Statements for loans made under the International Monetary Agreements Act 1947
- by Export Finance Australia
- by the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.
Australia also provides reports on lending to national governments to the Paris Club.
New bilateral loans between 1 October – 31 December 2024
| Date of loan agreement | Lender | Benediciary | Use of proceeds | Loan amount | Loan currency | Interest | Maturity (years) | Grace period (months) | Collateral |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/12/2024 | Australian Government | The Independent State of Papua New Guinea | Budget support and PNG reform efforts under multilateral development programs | 570,000,000 | AUD | Australian Government cost of borrowing‡ | 20 | N/A | N/A |
‡ At the time of drawdown as determined by the daily yield on Australian Government bonds with a 10 year maturity
For previous quarters, see the Bilateral loans archive.
Total outstanding bilateral loans as of 30 June 2024
| Country name | Export Finance Australia | International Monetary Agreements Act | Other | Total (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuba | $8,766,912.76 | $8,766,912.760 | ||
| Fiji | $60,386,473.43 | $60,386,473.430 | ||
| Indonesia | $1,150,000,000.00 | $415,326,242.76* | $1,565,326,242.76 | |
| Iraq | $75,463,524.76 | $75,463,524.758 | ||
| Palau | $13,355,093.60 | $13,355,093.559 | ||
| Papua New Guinea | $819,172,705.31 | $2,323,253,826.75 | $3,142,426,532.06 | |
| Solomon Islands | $16,000,905.80 | $16,000,905.797 | ||
| Sri Lanka | $11,338,632.17 | $11,338,632.171 | ||
| Timor-Leste | $67,934,782.61 | $67,934,782.609 | ||
| Trinidad and Tobago | $222,301,366.89 | $222,301,366.893 |
* This figure represents outstanding principal on 2 loans to Indonesia under the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD), issued by the former AusAID following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. These loans do not attract interest.