The Coalition has flagged about $1.5 billion in cuts to funding to health, Aboriginal groups and community legal centres, stifling their ability to lobby government on behalf of their members, the Australian Council of Social Service says.

The Human Rights Law Centre released a report titled 'Safeguarding Democracy' on Monday, which argued governments were eroding Australia's democracy.

ACOSS chief Cassandra Goldie has accused the federal government of a "breach of faith". Credit:Christopher Pearce

"Governments are using a range of funding levers to make it harder for community organisations to speak out, to advocate on behalf of the groups they represent (and) the natural environment and that's bad for the health of our democracy," Human Rights Law Centre executive director Hugh de Kretser said.

Among these, were funding contracts with community legal centres and other non-government organisations that specified money could only be spent on service delivery, not on advocacy which "send them a clear message 'if you speak out then you are at risk,'" the centre's executive director Hugh de Kretser said.