Twenty-five Australian charities who champion a wide variety of causes from health research to environmental protection are initiating a united campaign to fend off government attempts to limit their ability to engage in advocacy.



Before the launch of the charity coalition’s “Hands Off Our Charities” campaign on Monday, the Australian Council for International Development commissioned polling that showed Australians of all political persuasions tended to oppose the government’s plan to ban foreign donations to charities being used for political advocacy.

The research also showed the public, including Coalition voters, was far more concerned about foreign corporate interference in Australia – something the government’s agenda appears to ignore.

After years of parliamentary inquiries, an ongoing treasury inquiry as well as an internal government review, the attorney general, George Brandis, outlined the first set of reforms the government intended to implement in the sector this month.

They were described as part of changes designed to limit “espionage and covert foreign interference” in Australian politics.

The charities sector has reacted angrily, warning the moves would not sit well with the public, which is overwhelmingly supportive of the sector’s advocacy activities. Some have said there could be a constitutional challenge to the laws on free speech grounds.

Today 25 charities, including Oxfam, the Fred Hollows Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, Australian Medical Research Institutes, 350.org and the Human Rights Law Centre, will launch their “Hands Off Our Charities” campaign.

If the legislation is introduced without any exceptions for charities, the sector will be pushing Labor to move amendments to carve them out of the restrictions.



Barry Trail from Pew Charitable Trusts said: “We are united in our grave concerns on the impact on the plans proposed by the government.

“There are many people and issues in Australia that would not have a voice if it were not for the support of international philanthropy.

“Inside or outside of election periods, issues such as Indigenous peoples’ rights, funding for medical research, improvements to vaccinations and immunisations, and the protection of our natural environment, should be heard and discussed. It is a fundamental of a healthy democracy.”

David Crosbie, the chief executive of the Communities Council of Australia, a peak body for not-for-profit organisations, said charities should not be part of the government’s discussion about limiting foreign influence in Australian politics.

“It’s kind of bizarre because I don’t know what the problem is with charities,” he said. “Is the problem that they advocate for their causes during election campaigns? And if that is a problem then what sort of society do you want to live in? One where charities don’t advocate for their causes?



“Charities have to prove they are for a public benefit – and if they’re not for a public benefit, then they’re not a charity.

“They already cannot support political parties, they cannot support particular candidates. They cannot hand out how-to-vote cards.”

In question time earlier this month, the attorney general said: “Before the end of this year, the government will introduce a comprehensive suite of reforms to address a broad spectrum of foreign interference and covert political influence activity in Australia.”



Among the reforms Brandis outlined was a ban on any foreign donations being used “for participation in Australian elections”. The government previously said this would include not only donations to political parties and “associated entities” but also “third parties”, which would likely cover charities and other community groups.

The Guardian understands the legislation, to be introduced in the coming weeks, is likely to stop charities that receive foreign donations from publicly advocating on policy issues near elections – possibly at any time during “an election year”.

Crosbie said changes of the sort flagged by Brandis would have “an incredibly negative impact on democracy in Australia”.

“I can assure people that the charity sector as a whole will not accept that they cannot represent their causes or their communities during election periods. That would be a bizarre suggestion and almost every charity in this country will react against that.”

In the UK, after a similar law was introduced, charities there reported a “chilling effect” and the House of Lords, Labour, the Greens, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP all called for the law to either be repealed or reformed.

In the polling of more than 1,000 people conducted last week by Essential Research, a majority of both Labor and Coalition voters who had a view on the topic said they thought charities that receive donations from overseas should be allowed to publicly advocate on issues during or near elections.

Almost a third of all respondents said they “don’t know” but, of those that did have a view, 60% supported charities’ rights to advocate in or near elections. That grew to 65% among Labor voters but remained at 60% among Coalition voters. The figures were slightly higher among Greens voters but were split 50-50 among those that voted “other”.

Meanwhile, 67% of Labor voters, 65% of Coalition voters and 73% of Greens voters said they agreed that foreign government and corporate money posed a greater threat to Australian politics than the influence of charities.

Support for banning foreign-owned companies from advocating on issues during elections in Australia had widespread support and was particularly supported by conservative voters, receiving support from 64% of Greens voters, 73% of Labor voters and 76% of Coalition voters.

Labor’s spokesman on charities and not-for-profits, Andrew Leigh, said: “Many in the Liberal party want to stop environmental charities from advocating on policy. And now the Liberals want to hamper charities that receive overseas donations.

“The Liberals must cease their war on charities and start backing the organisations that are trying to make the world a better place.”



The debate about charities has been led by coal lobby group the Minerals Council of Australia.

The government and the Minerals Council have also been pursuing an attempt to specifically limit the advocacy work of environmental groups, by exploring changes that would demand any environmental group that receives tax-deductible donations being forced to spend most of their resources on “on the ground remediation”.

That line of intended reform appears to have been delayed while the issue of foreign donations is dealt with.