Caritas Australia

Caritas Australia is an Australian Catholic agency for development cooperation and humanitarian aid.

Caritas is a member of Caritas Internationalis and its region Caritas Oceania, as well as of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID).

History
Caritas Australia's predecessor was the Catholic Church Relief Fund (CCRF), established in 1962 and whose name was changed two years to Episcopal Committee for Catholic Overseas Relief (COR). Later that same year, in 1964, the Catholic Bishops started the Catholic Overseas Relief Executive Committee, whose members were lay people. It became the Australian Catholic Relief in 1966 and Caritas Australia in 1996.

In the 1960s, parish communities in Adelaide, Sydney and Wagga Wagga were collecting funds during Lent for missionary projects and activities to reduce poverty abroad. This practice, named "Project Compassion", developed over the years and is still Caritas Australia's main fundraising appeal.

Work
In 2022 and 2023, Caritas Australia worked with 90 partner organisations in 36 countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Middle-East. Its projects supported around 1.5 million persons in need.

Caritas Australia works according to the localisation principle, meaning it supports local partner organisation and communities abroad and does not implement activities directly through country offices.

In Australia, Caritas works with Indigenous Australians on programs that focus on strengthening cultural identity and spirituality, intergenerational healing, livelihood opportunities, as well as on advocacy.