As an organisation run entirely on voluntary contributions, we sincerely thank our generous supporters for their powerful commitment to UNICEF Australia’s work for children around the world.
We are honoured to receive ongoing support from those who donated either as a monthly Global Parent, as a subscriber to Paddington’s Postcards, or as a responder to an emergency appeal. We also received support from those who donated after reading our regular stories from the fields and from individuals who left a gift in their Will.
No matter how you chose to have an impact for children, thank you from all of us at UNICEF Australia.
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In 2022, UNICEF Australia raised $62 million to help the world’s children in need
Financial Statements
In the face of new and ongoing conflicts, natural disasters and an ongoing pandemic, throughout 2022, we continued to provide critical humanitarian assistance and support for long-term development projects in Australia and around the world while expanding our programs to reach more children in need.
As a registered charity under the Australian Charities & Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), UNICEF Australia is committed to transparency and accountability. Our charity details, programs and financial reporting is publicly available on the ACNC Charity Register here: Australian Committee For UNICEF Limited | ACNC
How we spend your money
UNICEF is 100 per cent donor funded and has helped save more lives than any other humanitarian organisation. Thanks to our supporters, we’ve been able to contribute funds to international and Australian-based programs, as well as local program support costs and community education which informs and educates Australians on children’s rights.
Here are some of the key highlights
- In 2022 our contribution to children grew to $46.7 million in 2022, an increase of $10.2 million against 2021.
- In 2022, our contribution to children represented 82 per cent of overall expenditure, excluding non-monetary costs and amounts funded by UNICEF grants.
- We distributed $15.1 million in critical aid to Ukraine to provide children with access to safe water, sanitation and healthcare, psychosocial support and access to education.
- $1 million in humanitarian support following the volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga and $600,000 toward relief efforts following severe flooding in Pakistan.
- With the support of the Australian community and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), UNICEF Australia contributed $12.2 million to Priority Programs across the East Asia and Pacific region.
Specifically, for Australia
Consistent with our aim that all Australian children and young people have a fair chance to achieve their potential, UNICEF Australia invested $1 million in domestic programs focusing on early childhood education within Indigenous communities and skills development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students entering adulthood.
UNICEF Australia is also supporting the development of the Family Friendly Workplace recognition framework, which guides employers on best practices to help employees meet their work, family, and well-being needs.
Fundraising and Administration Costs
To grow our impact, additional investments were made in high-performing fundraising activities, with overall fundraising expenditure increasing from $9.6 million to $12.7 million. The increase was funded partially through a growth in UNICEF grants (2022: $5.3 million; 2021: $4.3 million), and otherwise reflected a return of UNICEF Australia-funded investment to medium-term averages following a reduction in 2021 (2022: $7.4; million; 2018-2021 average: $7.4 million). The uplift in investment, together with the generosity of donors, has resulted in the highest-ever year of community support income for UNICEF Australia.
Accountability and administration expenditure is required to efficiently run UNICEF Australia. It includes items such as staff costs for finance, human resources, and administration, as well as audit fees and insurances. Accountability and administration costs have decreased as a proportion of overall expenditure, excluding non-monetary amounts funded by UNICEF grants, dropping to 5 per cent as we have been able to scale up our fundraising and programmatic activities in an efficient manner.
- 82¢last year, 82 cents went directly to program expenditure and community education, including long-term development and emergency response work.
- 13¢last year, 13 cents covered the essential costs of raising public awareness and fundraising to generate more support for UNICEF’s work.
- 5¢last year, 5 cents were spent on UNICEF Australia’s accountability and administration.
How do we use each dollar donated?
UNICEF
UNICEF Australia works in cooperation with UNICEF, supporting humanitarian and development programs around the world. UNICEF is a signatory to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and publicly discloses information on programmes and operations on its Transparency Portal. The portal also has links to a growing number of corporate documents such as organisational policies, operational guides, supply and logistics, country programme documents, evaluations, audit reports, and annual programme results reports.