As the conflict continues in the Middle East, social media posts claim the Australian government is sending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to Islamic militant group Hamas.
This is false. While Australia provides aid funding to help Palestinian civilians, including an estimated $32.2 million in 2023/24, this money goes through the United Nations (UN) and major international aid agencies.
The claims began to appear in the days after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
This Facebook post (archived here) suggests Australia sent $32.2 million directly to Hamas in the past financial year.
“Shame on Albanese and Wong and the rest of the Labor Party’s recognition of Hamas,” the post states.
“Why is Australia sending funds to a Terrorist organisation?
“$32.2 million 2022-23.”
This post (archived here) used the same figure, adding that the “new Australian Labor government is financing Hamas’s mass murder of Jews in Israel”.
Another wrote (archived here) that the “Labor government (Penny Wong) gave these scum $32 million”.
The quoted figures refer to the federal government’s annual aid assistance to the “Occupied Palestinian Territories“.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) representative says all Australian aid funding is distributed responsibly.
“Australia’s assistance in Gaza is delivered through trusted multilateral organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations,” they told AAP FactCheck.
This is confirmed in a DFAT development program progress report detailing where money from previous years had been distributed.
The report outlines an estimated $29.8 million of aid in 2021/22 was distributed between the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the International Committee of the Red Cross/Crescent (ICRC), UNICEF, Australia Awards Scholarships, the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Reports from earlier financial years (here, here and here) reveal similar annual amounts to largely the same aid organisations.
DFAT has said it will provide approximately $32.2 million across 2023/24 in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as part of a “genuine commitment to the Palestinian people“.
The department has said $20 million of this will go to the UNRWA, with $1.5 million earmarked for the Australia Awards Scholarships.
It said further allocations for the rest of this funding were yet to be decided.
There has been criticism of Australia’s aid funding, with claims it indirectly finances Hamas.
The Australian Jewish Association has raised concerns, arguing that giving money to good causes frees up Hamas to spend money on terrorism.
But it is false to say Australia sends any money directly to Hamas.
The DFAT representative said Australia listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation in March 2022 under the Criminal Code Act 1995.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has strong controls in place to ensure no funds are diverted to Hamas either directly or indirectly,” they said.
“The Australian government takes seriously its counterterrorism, anti-fraud and anti-corruption obligations when delivering development and humanitarian assistance.”
Cameron Hill, an expert on aid and development at the Australian National University‘s Development Policy Centre, told AAP FactCheck it was false to say Australia funds Hamas.
Dr Hill pointed to DFAT’s measures to prevent the financing of terrorism and said there was “no evidence that Australian aid goes to Hamas”.
Marc Purcell, chief executive of the Australian Council for International Development, described the claims as “nonsense”.
“Australian official aid as well as aid delivered by non-government organisations in partnership with the Australian government is some of the most heavily scrutinised and managed areas of public expenditure in Australia,” Mr Purcell told AAP FactCheck.
“It goes through rigorous counter-terrorism financing and money laundering financing checks and requirements, both at an official level and at a non-government organisation level.”
He added: “It’s an old accusation that’s been floating around for many years… Organisations rely on public trust for their donations, public donations or government donations. They’re absolutely wanting to be accountable to the public that supports their work, so it’s kind of farcical to be saying that they’re supporting terrorist organisations.”
Australia’s policy of humanitarian aid to the Occupied Palestinian Territories is not unique to the current Labor government.
Reports from previous years, such as this one for 2015/16, show aid for Palestinian refugees was in place under the coalition government.
Australia’s position on the future of the Middle East continues to be a “two-state solution” in which “Israel and a future Palestinian state co-exist in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders”.
The Verdict
The claim the Australian government is sending tens of millions of dollars to Hamas each year is false.
In recent years the government has sent about $30 million in annual aid to fund humanitarian projects in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
This money is distributed largely through the United Nations and international aid organisations such as the Red Cross.
The government has measures in place to ensure this money does not reach designated terror groups such as Hamas.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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