Australian Civilian Corps (ACC) deployments

ACC deployees are employed and managed by AusAID under the Australian Civilian Corps Act 2011.

Deployments typically last between three and 12 months. Deployments could include support for missions that are led by Australia, or where Australia is part of a coalition or multilateral effort. Deployed ACC specialists may work with a range of counterparts, such as host government officials, local beneficiaries, or other international donors or civilian specialists. They may also work alongside the Australian military and police where they are present in-country, or with foreign military or police, or United Nations peacekeepers.

ACC specialists have been deployed to Afghanistan, South Sudan, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Thailand to support stabilisation and recovery efforts.

A team of specialists in post-disaster recovery has also been established to deliver effective stabilisation and recovery assistance should a natural disaster occur in the Asia-Pacific region or beyond.

The ACC capability provides AusAID with a mechanism to transition quickly from the humanitarian and emergency response phase, through to the recovery and reconstruction phase and on to long term development activities.

Video: AusAID deploys Stabilisation Advisers to Afghanistan

Case study

Jed—Donor liaison officer, Haiti

Jed was the first ever ACC specialist to be deployed. Jed was mobilised to Haiti for a year to work with the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) in Port-au-Prince.

IHRC was established in the wake of the country’s devastating January 2010 earthquake, which killed more than 230,000 people, displaced another 1.3 million and destroyed infrastructure. The IHRC was tasked to work with donors, NGOs and the business community to coordinate Haiti’s recovery efforts.

"As a donor liaison officer, I helped coordinate the work of donors and aid agencies to encourage them to put their resources into areas the Commission believed were priorities. It was exciting, challenging and rewarding. I had the opportunity to devote my energy and expertise to something big and help people with immediate and complex needs."