I want better aid results, Bishop declares

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says Australia hasn't been getting the outcomes it should expect from the billions it spends in overseas aid.

Ms Bishop on Wednesday will outline the government's "aid for trade" agenda for the $5 billion aid budget, including new benchmarks to link funding to program performance.

Ms Bishop said the benchmarks would ensure that Australia not only meets its aid objectives, but that recipient governments take responsibility for the implementation of programs.

"We will work with countries to ensure that they understand what is required, and they understand the concept of mutual obligation because we can't keep doing what we've always done and expect a better outcome," she told ABC radio ahead of a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra.

Australia was not getting the outcomes it should expect from its aid spending, she said.

"I want to see much better outcomes, and that means working with partner countries to ensure that the aid dollar is spent effectively and efficiently and actually delivers results."

Labor MP Stephen Jones suggested the government was making the aid announcement to distract from its poorly received budget.

"Let's not be distracted by these sorts of red herrings," Mr Jones told reporters in Canberra.

The principal purpose of aid should be to lift people out of poverty and if it happened to boost Australia's trade that was a bonus, he said.

The Australian Greens were reserving judgment until they saw the substance of Ms Bishop's plans.

"It's difficult to see how we're going to get better aid outcomes by cutting the aid budget," deputy leader Adam Bandt said.

He thought the idea of the aid budget becoming "an offshoot of Australia's commercial interests" was wrong.