[1] There are four key areas in which the APHEDA organisation intends to focus on, these are dignity at work, social justice, economic equality and the realisation of human rights.

Helen stated she was horrified by the harm to civilians which took place due to the Lebanese civil war, after the Sabra-Shatila massacre.

[2] In this volunteer position, McCue witnessed, in her words, "the deterioration of the physical, psychological, social and cultural well-being of four million Palestinians".

[2] Within Beirut refugee camps, McCue volunteered for the Palestine Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organisation which act in the interest of the "health and welfare of the Palestinian people".

In the early 1980s, McCue worked for the World Health Organization as a United Nations consultant to evaluate nursing services in the Middle East.

[4] Further responsibilities of McCue in her time as executive director included “setting up infrastructure in Australia”,[4] recruiting the alliance of international unions and was a key player in overseas project work, in Vietnam, the Philippines, South Africa and the Middle East.

[7] McDonald is said to have supported the APHEDA organisation on an ongoing basis directly and through her affiliations with the Union of Australian Women at which she was the national secretary.

[12] Members can pay a minimum membership fee of $15.00 a month which is also contributed to the funding of Union-Aid APHEDA's offshore projects and programs.

[13] As a registered "Australian Company Limited by Guarantee", the organisation must reinvest any profits obtained back into the charity's work.

[10] It is proposed there are four main categories of partnership in which APHEDA engage in, they refer to:[3] In 2002, the acting prime minister John Howard's visit to Indonesia was not well received by the government officials.

Government officials cancelled scheduled meetings with Howard as it was believed Australia was in support of the West Papua and Aceh independence movements.

Through this, it is said APHEDA were partially responsible for the strike which occurred against the Shangri-La Hotel chain at the end of 2000[18] for the hotel-chain workers right to freedom of association.

The organisation provides health care free of charge to assist migrants and refugees crossing the border from Burma and Thailand.

[20] In this program, APHEDA work in partnership with the Karen's Women's Organisation (KWO) in refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.

[10] The program intends to strengthen leadership skills and knowledge within the camps to ensure community services can continue to be actioned despite political instability in the region.

It involves Australian APHEDA volunteers working with unionists and campaigners in an attempt to “ban asbestos and eliminate asbestos-related diseases”.