Australia on Monday announced a contribution of AUD 25.25 million to sustain assistance and protection for Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said.

The funding, part of Australia's 2026-28 humanitarian assistance, will help ensure the continuation of essential services for one of the world's most vulnerable refugee populations in their host communities, said the statement.

The announcement was made in the presence of Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman and Australia's Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs, Hon Julian Hill.

The contribution will enable UNHCR and its partners to maintain key services across the camps, including protection activities, skills development programmes and disaster risk reduction measures for refugees living in highly fragile and disaster-prone environments.

“Australia continues to respond to the most significant humanitarian crises in our region, making our region safer, more stable and resilient”, said Julian Hill.

“Australia remains committed to supporting the humanitarian needs of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh.”

Juliette Murekeyisoni, UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh, said nine years after the crisis began, the Rohingya refugee issue risks fading from global attention as news emergencise emerge elsewhere.

“Australia’s continued support sends a strong message that the Rohingya people have not been forgotten. Every refugee I speak to expresses the hope to return home safely, with their rights and dignity restored. Until conditions in Myanmar allow for voluntary, safe, and dignified return with full citizenship, the international community must remain steadfast in its support", she said.

Bangladesh currently hosts more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in the sprawling camps of Cox’s Bazar, most of whom arrived in 2017 fleeing a brutal crackdown on the Muslim ethnic group by the Myanmar military forces.

The ongoing conflict between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army, another ethnic armed group fighting for sovereignty in the country’s Rakhine state, led to the fresh influx of 1,50,000 more Rohingya refugees in the last two years.