Welcome
A message from our Managing Director
Thank you for standing with us this year.
Ukraine is now enduring nearly five years of the biggest war since World War II. For the people we work alongside, it means an enormous amount to know that people in Australia have not forgotten them.
Your support tells them, in a very practical way, that they are not alone. This report shows you how your donations were used and what remains set aside for the work ahead.
If you would like to do more, I warmly invite you to sign up to be one of our 200 Heroes for Ukraine — for the cost of a cup of coffee per week.
What We Can Achieve With 200 heroes
About us
About Only Passing Thru
OPT Ukraine (Only Passing Thru (OPT) Ltd) is a volunteer-run Australian charity supporting humanitarian aid, medical missions, medical education, and community support initiatives — with a major focus on Ukraine during wartime.
The organisation operates with
This model allows a very high proportion of donations to be directed toward frontline impact and charitable activities.
What guides us
Love in action
Compassion shown through practical medical care and aid, where it is most needed.
Trusted partnerships
Ukrainian partners and local healthcare professionals lead and shape the work. We walk alongside. One of our key partners was Christian Medical Association of Ukraine.
Accountability
We account openly for every donation and report each program separately.
Sustainable impact
We invest in local capacity — education, training and relationships that last.
OPT Ukraine
Walking alongside Ukraine
Practical humanitarian support, medical care, education and trusted local partnerships.
Mobile clinics
Medical education
Mobile clinics with CMA Ukraine
OPT works with the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine (CMA Ukraine), advising on the operation of mobile clinics. Behind every clinic day sits a system of volunteer coordination, records and reporting. This year we helped build bilingual tools to document how volunteers are managed, translated clinic forms into Ukrainian, and set up an automated monthly donor impact report with CMA Ukraine as its primary publisher — so the people who make the work possible can see it clearly. We also participated in mobile clinics across the country working with various Ukrainian volunteer teams that CMA connects with.
Medical Education: strengthening those who care for others
During wartime, the health professionals of Ukraine carry an extraordinary load, and medical education is one of the most lasting ways we can walk alongside them. Teaching and mentoring Ukrainian doctors, nurses and medical students helps build skills, confidence and connection at a time when many are working under great pressure and far from the usual support of colleagues and training networks. In 2025, Dr Lara Wieland devoted a substantial part of her time to this work, teaching and mentoring in person in Ukraine and continuing online from Australia. Learning shared in this way stays with local clinicians and the communities they serve long after any one visit, and it reflects our commitment to supporting Ukrainian health professionals to lead.
Looking ahead
Lara and Ron are preparing to relocate to Ukraine as self-funded volunteers (as of September 2026 they are now in Ukraine) to advise CMA Ukraine on mobile clinic operations and to continue medical education and medical care alongside Ukrainian colleagues. We also plan to be launching MedLearnUke — a bilingual, Moodle-based learning platform being built to support CMA Ukraine and Ukrainian doctors.
OPT Ukraine
Financial stewardship summary
Direct beneficiary & program support
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Donations paid in cash directly to partner organisations & aid recipients in Ukraine | $99,692.93 |
| Client support services | $4,908.33 |
| Program expenses | $30,364.95 |
| Total direct program & beneficiary support | $134,966.21 |
NB The discrepancy is reflected in restricted funds that will still be spent on direct program and beneficiary support beyond June 2026 — see the restricted funds section.
Examples of direct support through program expenses and client support services may include:
- humanitarian aid
- frontline medical missions
- medical supplies and support
- logistics directly supporting charitable activities
- medical education programs
- direct support for vulnerable communities e.g. generator, roof repair for humanitarian storehouse
OPT Ukraine
Restricted medical mission funds
Some donations are received specifically for future medical missions and ongoing costs of our medical education platform for Ukrainian health professionals and are legally and ethically restricted to those purposes.
These funds are:
- separately tracked internally
- quarantined for designated use
- not available for general operating expenses
Other restricted funds
About the “Restricted funds” bar
The $71,863.24 shown as “Restricted funds” is the $61,863.24 held for future medical missions plus the $10,000 restricted for the civilian evacuation vehicle. These funds are not spent yet; they are set aside for those purposes. See “Restricted Medical Mission Funds” and “Other restricted funds” above, and the note under “Direct Beneficiary & Program Support” in the Financial Stewardship Summary.
1 NB this will be utilised in medical missions that are ongoing in 2026.
2 Since this report was finalised most of this has been expended.
OPT Ukraine
Overall charitable commitment
Percentage Ukraine
Percentages are calculated against total OPT Ukraine income of $193,529.58 (donations of $188,905.97 plus trading/sales of $4,623.61).
Commitment to Ukraine donations
OPT Ukraine remains committed to directing 100% of donations specifically designated for Ukraine toward charitable purposes supporting Ukraine, including humanitarian aid, medical missions, medical education, and direct support to Ukrainian partner organisations.
Occasionally donors also kindly provide donations they wanted specifically earmarked for general costs which help support the operational infrastructure required to deliver these activities responsibly and effectively. These contributions assist with necessary enabling costs such as payment processing fees, insurance, software systems, communications, transport, compliance, and operational support.
This distinction is important when interpreting overall expenditure percentages, as restricted Ukraine donations are quarantined and used solely for their intended charitable purposes.
Respecting donors’ wishes
It is very important to us to be respectful of donors’ wishes with their funds. We aim to be as direct as possible in funding, and in direct alignment with donors’ preferences.
3 This is more than 100% because some of the restricted funds from previous year were used for charitable purposes in addition to additional funds raised through shop sales, market sales etc. going to charitable purposes.
Other programs
OTK projects
Legacy programs in Kowanyama.
General operations
Biggest expenses: software, computers, translation, subscriptions, website costs.
Summary
Summary
During the 2025–26 financial year, approximately 70% of Ukraine income was directly expended on beneficiary support and program delivery during the reporting period, with a further 37% retained in restricted medical mission reserves for future frontline medical work and medical education projects.
This represents a total of approximately 107% of income committed to charitable purposes.4
OPT Ukraine remains entirely volunteer-run, with no salaries or wages paid. Volunteer labour, donated office space, and substantial personal contributions by team members help keep overheads exceptionally low and maximise the proportion of funds directed toward frontline impact.
Understanding remaining operational costs
The remaining operational expenditure primarily relates to enabling charitable work and maintaining compliance, accountability, and operational capacity.
Examples include:
- payment processing fees
- website and software systems
- insurance
- internet and communications
- fundraising costs
- transport and vehicle expenses
- equipment used in charitable activities
- banking and compliance costs
Unlike many organisations, these operational costs do not include staff wages or executive salaries or benefits.
Volunteer contribution
The work of OPT Ukraine (Only Passing Thru) is made possible through substantial volunteer contributions from medical professionals, educators, support staff, and community volunteers.
If valued at commercial rates, volunteer contributions would represent a significant additional in-kind contribution to the charity’s work.
Interested in being part of our team? Contact us at opt@passingthrough.net
4 See Note 2
Accountability
Accountability & transparency
We are committed to:
Questions regarding this report or the organisation’s finances are welcomed.
Supporting our work
Published October 2026