With the size of the global budget for humanitarian assistance at USD 22 billion in 2013, it can hardly be a surprise that there have been repeated calls for a better coordinated, more regulated, and organised international disaster response system. While the boundaries of the international system were defined at least some decades ago, there remain a number of policy issues that need to be resolved for this system to become more effective. This paper sets out a number of trends and developments, with the intention of describing the context of policies, in order to facilitate a conversation about steps. This will aid in accelerating progress to strengthen the facilitation and regulation of international disaster relief.