Live: Australia releases $5m in humanitarian aid after Nepal-Tibet flood

The federal government will be releasing $5 million in humanitarian assistance to support disaster recovery efforts in the Himalayas following a deadly flood.Follow all the updates in our live blog. Fri 28 Aug 2026 at 7:08amFri 28 Aug 2026 at 7:08amWong will discuss assistance with Nepal's foreign minister todayThe foreign minister has been asked whether Australia will be sending Australian Defence Force personnel to the region to assist.Penny Wong has told ABC Radio National Breakfast she has a discussion scheduled with the foreign minister of Nepal later today and subject to their availability."We generally deploy response teams who are drawn from experience in logistics and communications and planning, as I said. That tends to be the people from Australia that we deploy," she says.Fri 28 Aug 2026 at 7:05amFri 28 Aug 2026 at 7:05amForeign minister says government is sending additional staff to the regionThe foreign minister says the Australian government is deploying additional staff to Nepal to assist with the humanitarian response.Penny Wong says Australia has 20 staff in Nepal and the government is sending four officers to the region in the next 24 hours, and a second team in the next couple of days.Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, she says that second team has expertise in logistics, humanitarian assistance, communications and planning."Obviously we will keep looking to build as required over the coming days, but we want to get initially some people to support the Australian officers who are already on the ground working in very challenging conditions," Wong says.Wong says she will be looking to speak to the Nepali foreign minister later today.Fri 28 Aug 2026 at 6:59amFri 28 Aug 2026 at 6:59amPenny Wong says additional four Australians unaccounted for in Nepal-Tibet floodForeign Minister Penny Wong says the number of Australians missing in the deadly Nepal-Tibet flood has risen from 35 to 39.The foreign minister says the government understands an additional four Australians who are accounted for were travelling to a tour.Wong says the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) are 43 consular cases related to the matter.Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, Wong says there's an "unfortunate possibility" the number of missing Australians could rise."We are urgently working to identify how many Australians have been in the region and to confirm the welfare of any Australians who are not accounted for," Wong says.Fri 28 Aug 2026 at 6:55amFri 28 Aug 2026 at 6:55amAt least 39 Australians missing following deadly Himalayas floodAt least 39 Australians are among those missing following he deadly flood in Nepal and Tibet, the foreign minister has confirmed.In a statement, Penny Wong says Australian officials are working to urgently confirm their welfare and provide assistance to those affected.The foreign minister says the federal government will release $5 million in humanitarian assistance to support recovery in the region.The money will go towards providing food, emergency shelter, clean water, sanitation and medical support.Australia will also sent an initial team of three humanitarian response specialists to the region within the next 48 hours to help Australian staff on the ground.Fri 28 Aug 2026 at 6:47amFri 28 Aug 2026 at 6:47amGood morning 👋Hello and welcome to our federal politics live blog! Thanks for joining us early this Friday morning.I'm Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today's federal politics news.Foreign Minister Penny Wong has confirmed at least 39 Australians are missing following the deadly flood in Nepal and Tibet.The federal government will be releasing $5 million in humanitarian assistance to support disaster recovery efforts.The foreign minister is about to speak to ABC Radio National Breakfast for an update on the situation. We'll bring that to you here here.Let's get this blog on the road!