NFPs write on message
Posted on 24 Oct 2023
By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia
Open letters co-signed by dozens of charities and not-for-profits have become a powerful weapon to pressure governments into action.
For people passionate about their work in the not-for-profit sector, the capacity to advocate for a cause is a natural extension of the practical help they provide to those in need.
It wasn’t always that straight forward.
In a recent speech in Melbourne before 170 attendees from the sector, Charities Minister Andrew Leigh reminded those present of the recent attempts from some quarters to stifle sector advocacy.
“There was a period under the previous government that saw charities more as a threat than an opportunity, prompting three open letters from the sector to successive Liberal prime ministers asking for them to back off on the attacks on charities,” said Mr Leigh.
In an indication of how much has changed, the Australian Charities and Not for profits Commision (ACNC) now formally endorses the right of organisations to speak their minds.
Commenting on the recently released ACNC 2022-2023 Annual Report, Commissioner Sue Woodward said those in the sector had made their views clear.
“Charities told us that advocacy was an important area of their work and they wanted greater clarity on the rules,” said Ms Woodward.
The ACNC this year published new guidance on its website offering advice for charities that wanted to take part in public discussion about the Voice to Parliament referendum.
“We spent time in a range of forums [throughout the year] emphasising that charities have the right to advocate to further their charitable purpose,” said Ms Woodward.
For-purpose organisations have embraced this freedom to advocate, banding together multiple times over the past few weeks to put pen to paper in letters to government agitating for change.
Their correspondence includes:
- A co-signed letter to Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan from 36 charities and community organisations including Anglicare and Financial Counselling Australia urging more help for people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
“We spent time in a range of forums [throughout the year] emphasising that charities have the right to advocate to further their charitable purpose.”
The campaigns follow an open letter from the sector's peak body to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the wake of the Pareto Phone data hacking scandal.
More than 320,000 files and the data of at least 50,000 donors from 70 Australian and New Zealand charities were stolen from the Brisbane based telemarketer before being dumped on the dark web.
Compromised charities included WWF Australia, Plan International Australia and the Fred Hollows Foundation.
In a letter signed by Community Council for Australia CEO David Crosbie and members of the CCA board including Volunteering Australia CEO Mark Pearce, Mission Australia CEO Sharon Callister and Starlight Children’s Foundation CEO Louise Baxter, signatories urged Canberra to provide more cyber safety support for not-for-profits and charities.
A representative group which included Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)
and the CCA later met with staff at the Department of Home Affairs
for talks.
In his Melbourne speech, Mr Leigh said the Australian government understood the powerful role that charitable advocacy played and the way in which public debates were strengthened through the voices of charities.
“Sure, we love it when we have charities that are in agreement with our policies, but I’ll defend it powerfully when we’ve got charities that are disagreeing with our policies,” said Mr Leigh.
“It is really critical that we understand the health of a democracy benefits through charitable policy advocacy.”
More information
NFP sector in cyber security talks
From poverty to possibility: charities look for practical solutions to help low income earners
NFPs pile the pressure on government to do more for the needy