For more than 60 years, Caritas Australia has worked at scale to support communities most affected by poverty, conflict and disaster in Australia and around the world.
As the international aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in Australia, we don’t aim to localise our work because we are already local. Caritas Australia partners with communities for the long term, supporting locally led, community based development and humanitarian programs that respond to immediate needs and strengthen resilience well into the future.
Our impact is powered by both scale and presence. Through trusted local partners and Church networks and as a member of Caritas Internationalis, the second largest humanitarian network in the world, we have the reach and trust to act where the need is greatest. Where there is a parish, Caritas can be there. This global network allows us to respond before, during and long after crises, including conflict and natural disasters.
In the last financial year alone, Caritas Australia supported more than 100 programs across 30 countries, reaching 2.3 million people worldwide. Globally, the Caritas network operates in over 200 countries and territories, powered by 3 million staff and volunteers and reaching nearly half a billion people each year.
Here in Australia, we work alongside parishes, schools and communities, walking together in solidarity, compassion and advocacy for justice.
At the heart of Caritas Australia is a shared conviction: lasting change is possible when local communities lead, global solidarity backs them, and human dignity is upheld.