The Indo-Pacific region is the engine of the new global economy. Ensuring it can
recover quickly will stimulate economic activity and restore jobs at home and abroad.
The Australian Government is committed to supporting access to safe and effective
COVID-19 vaccines for the Pacific and Southeast Asia, as part of a shared recovery
for our region from the pandemic. This will also contribute to Australia’s own health
security and economic recovery.
We are securing access to COVID-19 vaccines for Australia, the Pacific and
Southeast Asia through a range of advance purchase agreements with
manufacturers and through participation in the multilateral COVAX Facility.
Through a regional vaccine access and health security initiative, the Australian
Government will provide a range of support including supplying safe and effective
vaccine doses and delivering technical support to our regional partners. Australia will
assist with assessment of vaccine safety, efficacy and quality by national regulatory
authorities, informed by WHO advice.
We are committing an additional $500 million over three years towards this effort on
top of the $23.2 million committed in the Budget. The funding will further help ensure
that the countries of the Pacific and Timor-Leste are able to achieve full
immunisation coverage, and will make a significant contribution toward meeting the
needs of Southeast Asia.
The funding is in addition to the Australian Government’s support through the
COVAX facility and the Australian Government’s existing Advance Purchase
Agreements with Astra Zeneca-Oxford and CSL-University of Queensland.
Ensuring countries in our region can quickly recover from the health and economic
impacts of this devastating global pandemic is vital to ensuring our shared economic
future in the post-pandemic world.
A fast, safe vaccine rollout in the Pacific and Southeast Asia will mean we are able to
return to more normal travel, tourism and trade with our key partners in the region.
This initiative is separate from, and additional to, Australia’s ongoing international
development assistance budget.
The funding complements Australia’s support for global efforts to help our region to
access vaccines, including through the COVAX Facility and its Advance Market
Commitment (AMC) for developing countries. Australia has already committed
$123.2 million to the COVAX Facility to secure access to vaccines for Australians
and help bring down prices for all countries, and has contributed $80 million to the
Facility’s AMC for the benefit of high-risk populations in developing countries.
The Australian Government has also entered into Advanced Purchase Agreements
with Astra Zeneca-Oxford and CSL-University of Queensland for over 84 million units
of vaccines, which Australia is able to donate to partners in the Pacific and
Southeast Asia, should these vaccines prove safe and effective, and units are
available above domestic needs.
Media Contacts
David Wroe: +61 429 531 143 (Minister Payne)
James Perrin: +61 447 534 427 (Minister Hunt)
Wade Laube: +61 409 193 057 (Minister Hawke)
Authorized by Senator the Hon Marise Payne, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women