Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste is shaping its development path after 25 years of restored independence, and lasting progress depends on stronger institutions, broader economic opportunity, and leadership that reaches communities across the country.
We work with government agencies, civil society, businesses, and communities to strengthen governance, improve access to justice and safety, build local research capacity, and expand economic opportunity for all. In Timor-Leste, we draw on deep local partnerships and Timorese leadership to support practical reforms while opening new pathways for young people, communities, and businesses to shape a more resilient future.
Impact
Of Timor-Leste established community policing councils
Building collaboration between communities, local leaders, and security institutions to address community safety and security concerns.
Police officers, community leaders, and civil society representatives trained
Strengthening their capacity to understand, prevent, and respond to local safety and security challenges.
Civil society organizations strengthened
Improving institutional capacity through training and grant support, strengthening service delivery and engagement in policy and community processes.
National perception surveys completed
Generating evidence on public perceptions, governance, community justice, and social issues to inform policy and decision-making.
Women and children survivors supported
Survivors of violence received access to protection, referral, and support services.
Parents, community members, young people, healthcare graduates, and civil society actors
Engaged in initiatives to shift harmful social norms and strengthen safe and respectful relationships.
Tourism businesses strengthened
Through training and capacity building in hospitality, marketing, financial management, and tourism operations.
Civil society researchers trained
Gaining experience to independently conduct policy-relevant research and contribute to public dialogue and evidence-based policymaking.
FEATURED PROGRAM
Nabilan: Ending Violence Against Women and Children
Featured Programs
Boosting Tourism to Expand Economic Opportunity
As Timor Leste works to grow and diversify its economy, we help communities and entrepreneurs build tourism businesses that create jobs and generate income.
Building Trust to Prevent Violence
For more than a decade, the New Zealand-funded Community Security and Justice program has supported more responsive public service delivery and strengthened trust between communities and police to prevent violence and build resilience. It has transformed policing in Timor-Leste from a reactive, security-driven force to one that works with communities to prevent conflict and resolve disputes. Partnering with police, community leaders, and civil society, the program has expanded community police councils across more than 75 percent of the country, improved local coordination, and contributed to national reform. Backed by strong survey evidence, these efforts have strengthened trust in police, expanded access to justice, and enabled Timorese institutions and communities to lead in building safer, more resilient societies.
Protecting Workers at Home and Abroad
The Pacific Labor Mobility Support Program supports a broad-based, future‑ready Timorese workforce by strengthening systems to support the safety and welfare of Timorese Pacific Australia Labor Mobility workers and their families, from pre-departure through deployment and reintegration. Working closely with the Secretariat of State for Vocational Training and Employment, the program is supporting a community of care model, bringing together government, service providers, and communities into a more coordinated, culturally grounded, and trauma-informed network of care. More than 300 secretariat frontline staff have improved knowledge of survivor-centered referrals while hundreds of returned workers and family members have reported better communication to manage expectations.
SASUKAT: Strengthening the Timorese Civil Society Sector
Sasukat, funded by the Australian Government’s Partnership for Inclusive Prosperity, is supporting evidence-based policymaking by strengthening the capacity of Timorese civil society to independently generate and disseminate policy-relevant research and engage in the country’s digital transition. In partnership with 19 organizations in the Timor-Leste Research and Advocacy Network, it has delivered the high-profile Tatoli! public perceptions survey and supported more than 80 civil society researchers to improve their skills through training and intensive mentoring. The program has also supported civil society to actively shape Timor-Leste’s emerging digital policy landscape and strengthen digital security practices.
Latest Thinking
Tatoli! A Survey of the Timorese People – 2025 Results
Tatoli! A Survey of the Timorese People – 2023 Results
Local Justice in Timor-Leste: Barriers to Access at the Community Level
Study
State of the Media: Timor-Leste 2024
Complementarity of Indian Development Cooperation with Similar Initiatives in the Indo-Pacific – Fiji
Read More on Timor-Leste
Country Leadership
CONTACT US
The Asia Foundation in Timor-Leste
timorleste.general@asiafoundation.org
+ 670 331-3457