UNICEF in Australia

UNICEF in Australia

© UNICEF/Australia

Australia’s best-known artist and designer Ken Done has been an active supporter of UNICEF Australia since 1988.

UNICEF Australia has been active since the early 1970s, defending the rights of children and raising funds to support UNICEF’s work for children worldwide. We are based in downtown Sydney but have a network of volunteers in other state capital cities, all committed to supporting our work on behalf of the world’s children.
Bold and inventive, reflecting the Australian national character, UNICEF Australia has pioneered a number of programmes that have subsequently been rolled out globally.
Most notable of these is Change for Good®, a partnership between UNICEF and the international airline industry which offers travellers an easy way to help the world’s children by donating their unwanted currency to UNICEF aboard their flights. To date, Change for Good® has raised nearly A$9 million (US$5.85 million) since it started on Qantas flights in 1991.
Our Global Parent monthly giving programme was launched in Australia in 2002, with plans to extend it to other countries in the UNICEF family. Global Parent offers a way to help many children in the developing world. By making regular donations, our Global Parents help UNICEF help the Global Child, in any of the countries where UNICEF works, by ensuring health, education, equality and protection. It’s a way of getting funds to go where they are needed most.
Our Parliamentary Association, established in 1987, brings together federal parliamentarians in support of UNICEF’s mission. It also encourages Government to give women and children a high priority in its overseas aid programme.
UNICEF Australia does not deliver basic services for Australian children. But, using the Convention on the Rights of the Child as our guide, we draw attention to the plight of the most disadvantaged in our community.
The funds we raise for UNICEF’s programmes come from government, and from corporations and individuals who support our campaigns and buy UNICEF cards and gifts. Our high profile ambassadors, such as actor Nicole Kidman and artist Ken Done, also play an important role in reaching out to the public and raising awareness in Australia of UNICEF’s vital work.