The "Sustainable Development Goals and Australia" describe how Australia participates in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) process. The SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all". The SDGs, set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and intended to be achieved by the year 2030, are part of a UN Resolution called "The 2030 Agenda". The targets and indicators for the SDGs are included in the UN Resolution adopted by the General Assembly two years later on 6 July 2017.
The Commonwealth of Australia was one of the 193 countries that adopted the 2030 Agenda in September 2015. Implementation of the agenda is led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) with different federal government agencies responsible for each of the goals.
In November 2020, the Transforming Australia: SDG Progress Report stated that while Australia was performing well in health (SDG 3) and education (SDG 4) it was falling behind in the reduction of emissions (SDG 13), waste and environmental degradation (SDG 12, SDG 14 and SDG 15), and addressing economic inequality (SDG 10).
Australia is not on-track to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Four modelled scenarios based on different development approaches found that the 'Sustainability Transition' scenario could deliver "rapid and balanced progress of 70% towards SDG targets by 2020, well ahead of the business-as-usual scenario (40%)". In 2020, Australia's overall performance in the SDG Index is ranked 37th out of 166 countries (down from 18th out of 34 countries in 2015).
Background
Role in the SDGs creation
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) led Australia's contribution to the development of the 2030 Agenda, which comprises the SDGs and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. In its 2015-2016 Annual Report, DFAT said its actions successfully ensured that Australia's national interest and existing aid, trade and foreign policy priorities, and those of its development partners, were reflected in the outcome. DFAT was active in securing standalone SDGs for economic growth (SDG 8), gender equality (SDG 5) and peace and good governance (SDG 16). In doing so, helps strengthen "existing international frameworks, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women".
National co-ordination and governance
To co-ordinate Australia's domestic and international efforts to advance the 2030 Agenda, the Australian Government formed an Interdepartmental Committee (IDC) of senior officials. Co-chaired by PM&C and the DFAT, the committee collaborates with domestic stakeholders to promote and monitor Australia's progress.
Responsibility for each goal is allocated to an Australian Government agency and each department is responsible for making the latest available data on the SDG data platform.
Reporting platforms
National Government's Data Reporting Platform on the SDG indicators
In June 2018, the Australian Government launched a data platform to centralise its available datasets on SDG Indicators and provide a single point of access for anyone interested in SDG data.
The platform was part of a comprehensive package of reporting on SDG progress that included the VNR and the Australian SDGs website.
In addition to providing the status of Australia's data collection against all 232 SDG indicators, as progress is made over time on identifying data-sets or the SDG indicators are refined, other datasets can be uploaded to the platform. It will also assist with streamlining SDG reporting for other purposes as it can interact with other reporting instruments like the Sendai Framework.
The "data community" was interested in seeing what actions the Australian Government has taken to plug existing data gaps to monitor progress on the SDGs. The launch of a new platform for SDG data, in addition to the VNR, was very welcome. The platform provides an incentive to improve its ability to report and by taking on this task in 'its own right', Australia "is best able to support neighbouring countries to meet their own data challenges".
National SDGs Website
In June 2018, the Global Compact Network Australia (GNCA) launched a website that allowed organisations to share their SDG aligned projects and activities in one location.
The Australian SDGs website was part of a comprehensive package of reporting on SDG progress to the that included the VNR and the Australian Government's Data Reporting Platform on the SDGs Indicators.