In 2026, it was announced that the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships Fund (PPPF) would be succeeded by the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships Program (PPPP)
A History of Parliamentary Partnerships
Prior to the establishment of the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships Program (PPPP), parliamentary strengthening initiatives in the region were delivered through the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships Fund (PPPF).
Created in response to a collective commitment by Australia's federal, state and territory parliaments to strengthen parliamentary institutions across the Pacific region, the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships Fund (PPPF) established twinning arrangements between Australian and Pacific Island parliaments, offering targeted assistance through the provision of training, capacity-building initiatives, and equipment.
Twinning Arrangements
The current twinning arrangements are:
- Australian Capital Territory with Kiribati
- New South Wales with Bougainville (Papua New Guinea) and Solomon Islands
- Northern Territory with Niue
- Queensland with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu
- South Australia with Tonga
- Tasmania with Samoa
- Victoria with Naoero, Tuvalu and Fiji
- Western Australia with Cook Islands
Launching the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships Program
The delivery of the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships Program (PPPP) is overseen by the Department of the House of Representatives within the Parliament of Australia, in partnership with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), through to 30 June 2030.
The Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships Program builds on the success of the longstanding twinning arrangements between Australian and Pacific parliaments.
Australian state and territory parliaments will continue to play a key role, delivering technical assistance while strengthening institutional partnerships and people-to-people connections across the region.
At its heart, the program is about helping parliaments do what they do best – represent their people, scrutinise government, make laws, and serve as strong, effective and inclusive democratic institutions.
It recognises that enduring parliamentary strengthening is most effective when it is grounded in local ownership, peer learning and long-term institutional support.
The program will focus on three streams of work:
- Helping participating parliaments identify reform priorities through benchmarking and targeted technical assistance.
- Investing in people, by providing access to professional development and peer learning opportunities.
- Recognising that effective parliaments must also be inclusive parliaments by promoting gender equality and disability inclusion.
Together, these streams of work will support stronger, more inclusive and resilient parliaments across the Pacific
