Concerns over charity election advocacy tumbles

Posted on 12 May 2025

By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has revealed a dramatic fall in the number of "concerns" relating to charitable advocacy during the election campaign.

As of the day before polling day on May 2, the regulator had received 63 concerns relating to political advocacy.

This was a significant drop on the 445 political advocacy concerns made prior to the 2022 federal election.

The 18 charities linked to concerns raised in the lead up to this year’s federal election was also less than halve the 38 charities under the spotlight in the 2022 poll.

The political advocacy statistics were revealed by ACNC commissioner Sue Woodward in her latest Charitable Purpose newsletter column.

The drop in the level of concerns follows a call by Woodward in February urging organisations to follow political advocacy rules in any campaigning in the lead up to the federal election.

At the time, the regulator also announced that monitoring advocacy would be one of its key priorities.

The ACNC launched a communications campaign in the lead up to this year’s poll aimed at reminding charities about the rules around advocacy.

charities must ensure activities and public comments align with a charitable purpose
must not oppose, promote, support, advocate for, or donate to a particular political party or candidate
may rank and compare the policies of parties or candidates if in line with a charity’s purpose
must avoid breaching laws such as defamation and trespass.

“It is important for charities to consider which organisation is doing what, as we saw examples where this lack of clarity caused confusion for the public and resulted in concerns.”

ACNC commissioner Sue Woodward.

Charities can campaign on political issues to advance their charitable purposes, including during election periods, as long as they meet the requirements of charity law and other relevant legislation, such as the Commonwealth Electoral Act.

“Once the election campaign was in full swing, we saw, as expected, a heightened focus on the sector’s advocacy activities, be that because of a letterboxed paper flyer or comments on social media and websites,” said Woodward.

“With this greater visibility came concerns by some about the activities of a small number of charities.”

Woodward said the nature of the concerns had changed between elections.

“Opposition to or the promotion of political parties were key themes this time, marking a shift from the previous election when concerns were more focused on the promotion of individual candidates.”

Controversy erupted during the campaign when it was revealed that members of the Plymouth Brethren Church (formerly known as the Exclusive Brethren), campaigned for the Liberal and National parties at pre-poll booths across Australia.

This is despite members of the secretive Christian sect, which is a registered charity with the ACNC, being prevented from voting by their beliefs.

In response to media reports on the alleged activities of its members in support of the Coalition, the church denied it had orchestrated a co-ordinated campaign or issued instructions to its members.

The revelation church members were engaged in political activities in support of a particular party, led to calls for its charity registration to be reviewed.

It is not known if a concern about church members activities during the election campaign have been raised with the ACNC.

An ACNC spokesperson said the regulator is prevented by law from speaking publicly about the circumstances of any charity, apart from referring to information published on the Charity Register.

The spokesperson said the regulator has gone to great lengths to raise awareness of its guidance for charities on campaigning and advocacy.

“The guidance states that advocacy and campaigning can be a legitimate and effective way of furthering the charitable purposes of a charity.

“However, it is important that charities do not cross the line into having a disqualifying political purpose and that they maintain independence from party politics.”

The spokesperson said anyone can raise a concern about a charity with the ACNC and that all such concerns were taken seriously.

“When a concern is raised, we use a standard independent process to review its details and, if necessary, launch an investigation or refer concerns to other agencies if needed.

“Where we have concerns about charity behaviour, our goal in line with our regulatory approach is to help them understand the rules and guide them back into compliance with their obligations, if possible.”

The spokesperson said the ACNC will investigate concerns that a charity has breached its obligations under the law.

“We will act when there is evidence that a charity has breached its obligations. The action we take is proportionate to the wrongdoing we find.”

This can result in anything from warnings and agreements to penalties to revoking the registration of charities.

“This process takes time and involves ongoing interactions until the matters are resolved, and we are satisfied a charity can operate within the law and its obligations.

“However, where serious breaches have occurred and a charity does not adequately address the ACNC’s concerns, we will use stronger powers which may include revocation of the charity’s registration.”

Woodward said that overall, she was pleased the charities that were contacted in relation to political advocacy concerns reacted positively.

“As we generally find, they were cooperative and keen to comply with their obligations to the ACNC when it was explained what was needed to stay on track.”

Woodward said that sometimes it is not a charity, but an entity connected to a charity that conducts advocacy work or campaigning on a charity’s behalf.

“It is important for charities to consider which organisation is doing what, as we saw examples where this lack of clarity caused confusion for the public and resulted in concerns.”

An ACNC spokesperson said there were several potential reasons why concerns about political advocacy dropped in the most recent federal election.

“We see this as a positive sign that charities are becoming more confident in navigating the rules, finding the balance between speaking up for their causes and staying within the guidelines.”

The spokesperson said that since the beginning of the year, the ACNC has also been proactive in supporting charities to understand and apply the advocacy rules in an election context.

This included:

updating ACNC advocacy guidance to provide clear, practical advice
answering common questions in the monthly e-newsletter The Charitable Purpose, which reaches more than 60,000 subscribers
raising awareness of the issue through Commissioner Sue Woodward’s Senate Estimates opening remarks and Commissioner’s column dedicated to the issue
a comprehensive social media campaign, supported by news items, to remind charities of the rules and signal our focus on this issue
published a Community Advocate podcast episode in which Commissioner Sue Woodward discussed this issue.

“We will continue to gather and analyse data on concerns relating to this federal election, ensuring charities remain informed and supported as they engage in this important aspect of their work,” the spokesperson said.

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