Report: Advancing action on the SDGs in Australia

On 7 September 2016 the SDSN Australia/Pacific co-hosted the inaugural Australian SDGs Summit: On the Road to Implementation, together with the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and the Global Compact Network Australia (GCNA).

The Summit generated significant energy and momentum to seize on the opportunities of the SDGs for Australia, and identified key elements and priorities for continuing to drive action. We have collated these ideas in an Outcomes Report, which we are now pleased to share.

The SDGs provide a new way for how Australia can address existing sustainable development challenges at home and abroad, and many businesses and other organisations around Australia are already seeing and engaging with these opportunities.

There are several key elements that need to be foster in order for implementation to be effective and successful:

• Collaboration and partnerships are critical to addressing the complexity of the SDGs.
• Communication and awareness raising is key to ensuring meaningful impact towards the SDGs.
• If Australia is to achieve the SDGs by 2030 certain goals must be prioritised but none must be forgotten.
• To progress SDG implementation in Australia, it is important to coordinate across sectors and at a national level.
• Appropriate frameworks for monitoring and reporting Australia’s progress on the SDGs are an essential component of implementation.
• Each sector’s role in achieving the SDGs should be highlighted.

Some of the most important next steps to help us get there include identifying the roles and responsibilities of all sectors, mapping Australia’s current performance against the SDGs to help identify priorities, mapping current activities already contributing to the SDGs, working to delve deeper into the details of national implementation, ongoing communication activities, and development of tools and resources.

ACFID, ACOSS, GCNA and SDSN Australia/Pacific will continue to collaborate to deliver activities to advance the implementation of the SDGs in Australia, building on the Summit outcomes.

Download the Australian SDGs Summit Outcomes Report