Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Richard Marles, says planned changes to the way the government aid agency AusAID interacts with civil society are about improving transparency and effectiveness.
The government has just releases the AusAID Civil Society Engagement Framework.
It lays out how to ensure a sustainable, value-for-money approach to aid delivery, reducing the risks and broadening the responsibility by working more closely with civil society groups.
Mr Marles says AusAID has valuable links with NGOs and this Framework is about making sure that process is as effective as possible.
"There are many things that NGOs can bring to our work which we would never be able to do on our own in terms of the networks they have within countries and indeed between countries, so this is just about making sure what is a very good partnership at the moment is as effective and efficient as it possibly can be going forward."
Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Richard Marles.
