The PNG-Australia Partnership has been dedicated to supporting girls’ education in PNG for decades. The Notre Dame Secondary School in Western Highlands Province, and Mercy Secondary School in East Sepik Province, are all-girl schools that have benefited from this support. Students at these schools are now achieving some of the best results in the country.

In 2004, the Mt Hagen Local Level Government received a grant from the PNG-Australia Partnership to upgrade the Hagen Market and provide training for local vendors. Since the market opened in 2006 it has supported improvements to economic security for all of its vendors, most of them women and has become an agricultural centre of the country, supplying produce nationwide. In 2015, the PNG-Australia Partnership also upgraded the Lorengau Market in Manus Province. This enabled an increase in the number of stalls from 480 to 740 provision for 8 small shops and upgraded WASH facilities.

The PNG-Australia Partnership has provided three Incentive Fund grants totalling PGK28.1 million to Divine Word University, the first in 2002, the second in 2011 and the third in 2018. These funds have supported the construction of the Friendship Library, a lecture theatre, IT systems, male and female dormitories and staff housing. Divine Word University prioritises leadership opportunities for girls and has a 55% female enrolment ratio. Students credit these facilities to their overall learning experience and are striving to make the most of their tertiary education.

Supporting high-quality technical and vocational education and training has consistently been a priority for the PNG-Australia Partnership’s Incentive Fund Program. LaSalle Technical College received two grants: in 2008, and again in 2013. This support has helped the school to build new classrooms, tutorial rooms, and academic, training and administrative facilities, including multi-purpose halls. The college also upgraded the motor mechanic workshop, library, teaching area and power and water supplies. Previously the college had to turn away three hundred applicants annually but, thanks to the new facilities, they can now accept higher numbers of new enrolments.

In Phase 1 of the Incentive Fund, the University of Natural Resources in Kerevat, East New Britain Province received a grant that enabled the institution to pilot the Integrated Agriculture Training Program and construct a training centre. The project also included facilitating access to credit for farmers and developing market information systems. This IATP course trained 5,000 farmers in the region in various elements of farming and agriculture, including bookkeeping, land use and soil fertility, cocoa, vanilla and other crops. Now, 15 years later, the school has scaled up the project with support from various donors and has trained 30,000 farmers across each region of PNG, reaching 12 provinces.

In 2002 and again in 2014, the PNG-Australia Partnership provided 2 Incentive Fund grants to Marianville Secondary School to improve teaching and learning facilities, support girls’ education, and create space for new enrolments. These funds have supported the construction of a classroom block, three science laboratories, four staff duplexes three teachers’ houses, a laundry, an ablution block, a work shed and safe walkways. Existing dormitories, dining, kitchens, computer rooms, classrooms, and teachers’ houses were repaired, the assembly hall was also extended and textbooks, audio-visual equipment, science equipment and backup generators were provided.

Alotau General Hospital in Milne Bay Province received its first grant under Phase 1 of the PNG-Australia Partnership’s Incentive Fund in 2003. This grant supported the upgrade of the hospital’s operating theatre facilities and surgical ward. It also supported the construction of many new buildings, including eight new nurses’ units, one house, two duplexes and a six-room hostel. The grant also refurbished several other facilities. Then, in 2012 the hospital received a second Incentive Fund grant enabling them to upgrade medical, clinical and administration facilities, as well as additional staff housing.

In 2017, the PNG-Australia Partnership provided an Incentive Fund grant to construct a new School of Business Studies Complex at the Pacific Adventist University. The complex included new classrooms, computer labs, staff and student amenities, and three lecture theatres accommodating a total of 440 students. These modern learning facilities support a range of courses including Bachelor of Business (Accounting, Information Systems, Management and/or Entrepreneurship), Diploma of Leadership and Management, and Master of Leadership and Management, training the next generation of business leaders in Papua New Guinea.

The PNG-Australia Partnership is dedicated to supporting PNG’s research capacity through infrastructure support with 10 new offices for research staff, a registration and reception office, an administration and conference facility for 240 people, a printing and production facility, four staff units and the upgrading of eight existing accommodation units in 2009. A separate grant was also awarded to the National Agriculture Research Institute in East New Britain province to rebuild of NARI office, research facilities and guesthouses at Kerevat.

Through the PNG-Australia Partnership and the Incentive Fund, new facilities and accommodations were built for teachers and students at the Lutheran School of Nursing, paving the way for a brighter future in healthcare education. Pacific Adventist University was also awarded an Incentive Fund grant to develop advanced teaching facilities, enhancing the learning environment and empowering students to reach their full potential.

Mt Hagen Technical College received an Incentive Fund grant to construct a large diesel heavy equipment fitting (DHEF) workshop, six 3-bedroom staff houses, and two dormitories to accommodate 48 students each, as well as to re-route the existing water reticulation supply line.

The PNG Institute of Medical Research utilised an Incentive Fund grant to construct a library, an archive, a lecture theatre, and an Operational Research Unit (ORU), along with housing for officers and staff in Goroka, Madang, and Maprik. They renovated existing facilities to create better laboratory space, a computer laboratory, larger administration offices, and improved housing in Goroka and Madang, responding to the growing demands for health-related research that were stretching both the current staff and the new resources.