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Australia / Education and regional diplomacy

2013–2015

The New Colombo Plan’s 2014 Pilot

Trace the New Colombo Plan from its December 2013 launch through the 2014 pilot, scholarships, mobility grants, shared administration and regional expansion.

Julie Bishop, right, joining a handshake with Fumio Kishida, centre, and John Kerry, left, in Vientiane in July 2016.
10 December 2013
Canberra launch
2014
Four-location pilot
2015
Wider regional rollout

By Biography Compass Editorial TeamPublished 24 October 2026

The short answer

The New Colombo Plan made Australian undergraduate study and work experience in the Indo-Pacific part of a foreign-policy initiative. Its December 2013 launch preceded a four-location pilot in 2014 and wider expansion in 2015. The design combined education, professional connections and regional engagement, with responsibilities extending well beyond the foreign minister who championed it.

Chronology

A timeline of the turning points

  1. Launch

    The government launches the initiative at Parliament House for the following year’s pilot.

  2. Initial locations

    Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong host pilot study experiences.

  3. Two funding streams

    Scholarships and university-led mobility grants support different forms of study and practical experience.

  4. ASEAN participation announced

    All ten ASEAN members agree to participate from 2015.

  5. Expansion

    DFAT records rollout to 38 eligible locations, informed by the pilot.

A December launch prepared a pilot for the following year

The Canberra launch took place on 10 December 2013. The pilot year was 2014, with Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong as the initial locations. These dates are often compressed together, but the announcement and the students’ supported experiences were separate stages.

Starting with a limited set of locations allowed departments and partners to test arrangements before expansion. The government described the pilot as an opportunity to refine the model. That intention did not mean every administrative or educational challenge had already been resolved at launch.

Sources for this section: [1] · [2] · [3]

Scholarships and mobility grants served different forms of participation

The early program had two components. Scholarships supported longer periods of overseas study, including opportunities for internships or mentorships. Mobility grants enabled universities to develop a wider range of short- and longer-term projects.

Practical experience was important to the design because the government wanted study to connect with professional relationships. University partnerships and host organisations therefore mattered alongside funding. A scholarship award, a short mobility project and an internship were related opportunities, not interchangeable experiences that can be counted or evaluated in exactly the same way.

Sources for this section: [4] · [1] · [3]

Shared administration connected diplomatic and educational work

The initiative was administered jointly by Foreign Affairs and Trade and the education department. The ANAO’s 2015 work-program description distinguished DFAT’s strategic leadership, budget and business engagement from education’s application processes and online administration.

Universities, regional governments and businesses also had delivery roles. This division explains why the program cannot be reduced to a minister’s travel schedule or a single department’s publicity campaign. Managing grants, arranging academic recognition and maintaining overseas relationships required cooperation across institutions with different responsibilities.

Sources for this section: [4] · [1]

Expansion demonstrated activity, while longer-term benefits required further assessment

Contemporary reporting recorded ASEAN countries’ agreement to join from 2015. DFAT’s 2014–15 program report then described rollout to 38 eligible locations and recorded pilot-related performance measures. These establish expansion and departmental reporting, rather than proving that every participant achieved the same educational or diplomatic benefit.

The historical pilot also should not be treated as current application guidance. DFAT records reforms announced in 2025 and a later three-program structure. The enduring institutional question is how student experience, professional links and regional understanding are supported and assessed, not simply how many destinations appear on an eligibility list.

Sources for this section: [3] · [2] · [5]

Biography context

Explore Australia through connected lives

The wider foreign-policy career

Julie Bishop

Place the initiative alongside diplomatic work, aid-budget disputes and later institutional roles.

Explore the biographiesGovernment context

Tony Abbott

Read the premiership during which the pilot began and the wider regional rollout followed.

Explore the biographiesLater foreign-policy context

Penny Wong

Compare a later foreign minister’s career without projecting later program changes back into the pilot.

Explore the biographies

Connected biographies

The minister who championed education diplomacy

Julie Bishop, right, joining a handshake with Fumio Kishida, centre, and John Kerry, left, in Vientiane in July 2016.
AustraliaPolitics

1956–

Julie Bishop

Former foreign minister and UN Special Envoy on MyanmarJulie Bishop moved from commercial law into Parliament, becoming Australia’s first woman foreign minister in 2013. Her career includes the New Colombo Plan, contested aid budgets, an unsuccessful leadership bid and later university and United Nations roles.Read biography

Quick answers

Common questions

Was the New Colombo Plan launched in 2014?
The Canberra launch was on 10 December 2013; the pilot operated in 2014.
Where did the pilot operate?
Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Was it only a scholarship scheme?
No. It also included university-led mobility grants and opportunities connecting study with work experience.
Are the pilot’s arrangements current eligibility rules?
No. The program later expanded and changed; this article explains its historical design rather than advising applicants.

Primary and institutional sources

How this history was checked

The launch address supplies stated design, not proven long-term benefits. The selected annual-report program section and contemporary reporting establish activity and expansion. The ANAO item is a proposed audit in a work program, not a completed audit finding. The photograph shows Bishop in July 2016, not the pilot launch. This article was reviewed on 24 October 2026.

  1. Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs archiveBishop’s New Colombo Plan launch address, 10 December 2013
  2. Department of Foreign Affairs and TradeAnnual Report 2014–15: New Colombo Plan program section
  3. ABC NewsASEAN participation and the 2014 pilot, 9 August 2014
  4. Australian National Audit Office2015 audit work program: Managing the New Colombo Plan proposal
  5. Department of Foreign Affairs and TradeAbout the New Colombo Plan: purpose and later program reform
  6. U.S. Department of StateBishop, Kishida and Kerry in Vientiane, 25 July 2016: public-domain item