What is advocacy?
“Advocacy” is a broad term that captures a wide range of activities designed to influence decisions. What will work for a particular issue can depend on timing, location, who the decision maker will be, who the opponents will be, current levels of public awareness or support for an issue, and available resources.
Advocacy activities include:
- Contributing to government or industry consultation processes
For example, making submissions, attending community consultation meetings, and completing council surveys seeking public input - Meeting with decision-makers
For example, meeting with a politician to raise concerns about a proposed reform, meeting with Departmental staff about a funding decision, meeting with local councillors about a proposed development, asking the CEO of a large company to publish more information about their emissions, or meeting with the Board of a sporting club to encourage them refuse sponsorship from a fossil fuel company - Participating in parliamentary processes
For example, appearing at inquiries, submitting information or questions to Senators to assist them to ask questions at Budget estimates, attending community parliament sessions, submitting or promoting a parliamentary petition, or attending local council budgeting sessions - Building community awareness and capacity
For example, hosting community workshops on a proposed local development, holding local meetings to gather support for a community power initiative, community “Voices” groups, building local skills on how to have persuasive conversations or effectively debunk misinformation - Using the media
For example, publishing open letters in a national paper, doing TV or radio interviews, submitting opinion pieces, writing letters to the editor - Legal actions
For example, challenging environmental approvals through courts or tribunals, referring misleading environmental claims to the ACCC - Investment decisions
For example, divesting from banks or superannuation funds that invest in fossil fuels, using your shareholder power to call for action on climate change or better reporting of nature-related impacts - Procurement decisions
For example, encouraging businesses to buy from local farms, discouraging restaurants from offering fish that is not sustainably harvested, supporting and promoting businesses that buy from First Nations suppliers - Direct action
For example, organising public events, attending rallies and protests - Research and information
For example, funding research and science communication initiatives to improve the information base for decision making, improving public access to research data
Helpful resources- Australia Charities and Not for profit Commission’s Guideline on Advocacy by Charities
- Non-government organisations and the Australian government: a dual strategy of public advocacy for NGOs (Dr Joan Staples, UNSW PhD thesis)
- Designing a Climate Advocacy Strategy (Dembinski & Ors, Harvard Business Review)
Case studies
Protecting the right to protest and advocate for change
The Minerals Council made a public call for environmental advocacy to be reduced, and to restrict an organisation’s advocacy spend to just 5 per cent of its overall budget. The rest had to be spent on on-ground work like tree planting. I knew we couldn’t let that happen.
Saffron Zomer, former ACF Campaigner, now CEO of Australian Democracy Network
In 2015, the federal government established a parliamentary inquiry into the register of environmental organisations, following calls from the mining industry to strip eNGOs of their ability to receive tax-deductible donations. The Minerals Council argued these organisations were using public donations to advance their political agendas and should be restricted to “on ground” activities.
The inquiry followed the introduction of gag clauses in community legal centre funding agreements, cutting all funding to EDOs across Australia, and new restrictions preventing NGOs from using Federal funding for advocacy activities.
AEGN and its members supported the collaborative efforts of Hands off Our Charities and the Places You Love Alliance to co-ordinate a multifaceted response. They made submissions, met with politicians, put a spotlight on the issue in the media and galvanised charities and their supporters to oppose the changes. The campaign was successful and eNGOs retained their DGR status and ability to advocate on environmental issues.
When the government proposed new reforms in 2017 that would restrict advocacy and fundraising, Hands Off Our Charities (now the Stronger Charities Alliance) was able to regroup and again succeeded in defeating the proposal.
More information
- Protecting advocacy and protest in Australia – AEGN
- The Right to Advocate is at the Core of Our Democracy (2019), Dr Joan Staples in Rebalancing Rights: Communities, corporations and nature, The Green Institute
- An Australian civil society success story (2018), Dr Joan Staples, Pearls and Irritations
- Step by step, conservative forces move to silence NGOs’ voices (2014), Dr Joan Staples, The Conversation
Challenging fossil fuel Interests
As significant donors we write this letter to make clear to the university, that we, and many like-minded others, will not support a university who would choose as their leader someone who is determined to build new coalmines when most of the world is determined to reduce fossil fuel use.
Open letter published in Newcastle Herald, 18 June 2021
In 2018, the University of Newcastle announced that it had appointed Mark Vaile, then chairman of Whitehaven Coal, as the university’s new Chancellor. A group of philanthropists, including AEGN members, signed an open letter saying that the appointment conflicted with the university’s net zero commitments and they would not donate to the University while Mr Vaile was in the role.
The letter received significant media attention. Several days later, Mr Vaile announced that he was stepping down as Chancellor.
Listen to our podcast with Sue & John McKinnon about that campaign and how AEGN members can help to shift power and remove barriers to climate action.
Tree clearing in Queensland
[There are] one million very good reasons to make our land clearing laws much better and more effective in protecting native wildlife. Today we are launching an alliance of organisations from across the state united in their efforts to stop this terrible destruction
Dr Tim Seelig, Queensland Conservation Council, 21 May 2017
The Campbell Newman government in Queensland relaxed land clearing regulations, leading to a huge increase in tree clearing. Between 2012 and 2016, one million hectares were cleared, killing millions of wildlife and increasing sedimentation in Great Barrier Reef catchments.
In the lead up to the 2017 election, and the environment sector saw an opportunity to lock in reforms that could turn that around.
Supported by a generous matched-giving commitment (Purves Tree Clearing Challenge), an alliance of eNGOs, led by The Wilderness Society, WWF and the Queensland Conservation Council, developed an effective campaign plan. This collective advocacy used public communications initiatives, citizen science, strategic partnerships, and lobbying of politicians.
The campaign secured an election commitment from Queensland Labor to end deforestation and introduce strong protections for forests and bushland. That commitment resulted in new laws in 2019, and a new $500 million Land Restoration Fund.
For more information about the tree clearing campaign, click here. In 2022, the Queensland Forest Alliance was launched to continue the work initiated by this campaign.
More information
- Alliance to Protect Forests and Bushlands launched
- Queensland moves to control land clearing, other States need to follow (The Conversation)
- Land clearing laws to be bolstered in Labor wins, what do Queensland’s graziers think? (ABC Country Hour)
- State Landcover and Trees Study (Queensland Government monitoring program)
New nature laws for Australia: a generational opportunity for change
We thought using existing legal mechanisms would be the most efficient way to achieve [environmental protection]. How wrong we were. What we encountered were barriers and bureaucracy. The laws are ineffective or woefully underused. At times trying to use existing legal provisions was like banging our heads against a brick wall.
Romola Stewart, WWF-Australia’s Head of Evaluation and Science (EDO client)
Australia’s national environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999(EPBC Act) is broken. It is not fit for purpose and is failing our biodiversity, threatened species and climate.
Under this 20-year-old law, Australia’s environment is experiencing the harsh realities of climate change at an alarming pace and intensity. Yet climate change doesn’t even rate a mention in the EPBC Act. In the two decades since these laws were introduced our environment and climate have suffered.
The Federal Labor Government came to power in 2022, committing to overhaul the EPBC Act. Their Nature Positive Plan committed to setting legally enforceable standards, establishing a new independent environment protection authority (EPA), improving community participation and trust in environmental decision-making, engaging with First Nations communities, and ensuring better understanding of climate impacts.

The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO)’s Policy and Law Reform team, along with hand-picked EDO subject matter experts, has been engaging in direct advocacy and expert law reform advice for government, parliament, and environmental stakeholders to make the most of this window of opportunity for reform. Each member of EDO’s policy and law reform team is taking the lead on different aspects of the reforms, including nature and threatened species, climate change elements, and community rights.
AEGN’s philanthropic backing
AEGN members recognised the proposed Nature Positive Plan as the best opportunity to fix Australia’s broken environment law in 20 years. The Purves Environmental Fund worked with AEGN to raise funds to boost EDO’s capacity to provide timely expert legal advice to the Federal Government in Canberra. This joint funding push through the AEGN clearinghouse secured more than 20 AEGN members to fund two part-time ‘legislative change’ lawyers, to liaise with the government during the various phases of the vital reform processes.
Since late 2023, EDO’s expert law reform team participated in four “lock-ins” in Canberra where they analysed extracts of the draft legislation on a confidential basis. In the lock-ins, they gave direct feedback on the draft legislation. This included recommendations on what to amend and what to delete, quite literally with a red pen! They were right there in the process, doing their best to stop the worst parts that industry wanted, and encouraging the best parts that science demands.
EDO’s expert law reform team has undertaken:
- 4 ‘lock-in’ consultations with the Department Reform Taskforce on reform drafting
- 10 briefing notes shared with MPs and movement allies
- 70 responses to requests for advice related to the Nature Positive reforms
- 78 hours in meetings with MPs and Senators on Nature Positive reforms
- 40 meetings with different MPs/ Senators offices on Nature Positive reforms
- 4 presentations to the Climate Action Network Australia membership
- 5 legal updates to provide community and allies with up-to-date expert information
- 11 amendments proposed to Nature Positive Bills with EDO’s support
EDO continues to push for crucial change
In mid-April 2024, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek announced a delay to the most crucial reforms. The protracted plan to roll out the nature law reforms in stages doesn’t match the urgency we need to save our wildlife and ecosystems.
The next day EDO’s lawyers went to parliament with a message for the Inquiry into Australia’s Extinction Crisis – this weak plan will not save Endangered species such as koalas from extinction.
Throughout this reform process EDO’s primary recommendation is to urge the government to introduce and pass nature positive legislation in this term of parliament, so that new laws can start to protect, repair and conserve nature as soon as possible.
This follows EDO’s role in achieving outcomes as part of ‘stage one’ of the nature positive reform process – including supporting the expansion of the water trigger under the EPBC Act to ensure unconventional gas projects are properly scrutinised, and preventing harmful biodiversity offsets from being included as part of the Nature Repair Market. The expert policy team also played an integral role in stopping a risky carve-out to our environmental laws which would allow the expansion of our offshore gas industry without federal environmental oversight. The law reform team at EDO is continuing to scrutinise the proposed legislation and push for amendments, and will continue to work with clients, scientists, members of parliament and the reform taskforce to make sure the full reform package is delivered.
To find out more, head to the EDO’s Nature Positive Laws page.