Not-for-profit pollies

The newly elected MP for the Victorian seat of Dunkley, Jodie Belyea, went into the campaign with an extensive background in the NFP sector and a lifelong passion for community service.

In 2018, Ms Belyea founded the Women’s Spirit Project, an organisation dedicated to helping women recover from the trauma and abuse of domestic violence.

Several years earlier, while working in a different role, she banded together with friends in her spare time to establish a volunteer organisation aimed at supporting young adults with disability.

Claiming victory on election night, Ms Belea said she was not a career politician.

"I'm someone who wants to make a difference for this great community and further afield. And I'm now going to be your strong local voice in Canberra."

Ms Belyea’s victory in Dunkley means she has joined a burgeoning list of similarly motivated former charity and NFP leaders who have been elected to federal parliament.

Kate Chaney

The member for the Western Australian seat of Curtin is the first female independent from the state elected to the House of Representatives.

The granddaughter of former Liberal MP and government minister Fred Chaney, Kate Chaney grew up in the electorate and studied arts and law at the University of WA before embarking on a career as a lawyer and strategist in the corporate world.

In the five years before being elected to parliament in 2022, Ms Chaney worked in the community services sector as manager of strategy and innovation at Anglicare WA.

Approached to run for office by grass roots community group Curtin Independent, Ms Chaney was elected with a 15.2% swing after running on a platform of climate action, integrity, future-focused economic management and a commitment to building connected, inclusive communities.

In her maiden speech to parliament, Ms Chaney said her career in law, strategy, management and community services had prepared her for what she hoped to achieve in Canberra.

"As a lawyer, I advised companies on mergers and individuals at Redfern Legal Centre on debt matters.

"As a strategy consultant, I grappled with problems in Sydney boardrooms and remote communities in Cape York.

"In the private sector, I developed reconciliation action plans and a sustainability strategy for one of Australia's largest companies, and in the community services sector I worked in partnership with government on innovative service design.

"Through these jobs, I've learned different approaches to solving complex problems and how to build consensus. I've learned about the deep disadvantages experienced by some and the challenges in building support systems to reduce those disadvantages.

"My career so far has taught me that there is rarely a black-and-white answer, there's always room to improve a solution after consultation and there is no one right way of thinking."

Kylea Tink

The federal member for North Sydney was among the "Teal” independents who rode the wave of discontent with the Morrison government all the way to Canberra in the 2022 election.

Born and educated in the NSW town of Coonabarabran, Kylea Tink had a successful career in communications as managing director at public relations firm Edelman Australia.

In the NFP sector, she led organisations pivotal in the fight against cancer – the McGrath Foundation (known for its iconic annual pink cricket test at the SCG) and the kids-focused cancer charity Camp Quality.

In her maiden speech to parliament, Ms Tink said that over a 35-year career she had experienced the highs and lows of pushing for positive change.

"Whether it was my earliest experiences advocating for tighter controls on tobacco or the work I did for better treatments for those living with HIV/AIDS, in every case, I always finished with a great sense of hope for humanity and an enduring belief in people's capacity to do amazing things when they are united behind a common purpose."

Ms Tink said nowhere did she see this more clearly than in her work with the McGrath Foundation, where one woman's vision – that of Jane McGrath, who died of breast cancer while married to Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath –inspired her to fight to see every family in Australia access the support of a breast care nurse to help them navigate the devastating experience of a breast cancer diagnosis.

"From the seed of the McGrath family's experience, in the space of six years we grew from having four nurses working in the area to having over 100, and we saw the Sydney Cricket Ground turn pink every January for the Sydney Pink Test in what has become an iconic international sporting event," she said.

"Since then, my attention has turned largely to areas related to youth, whether that was advocating to get hundreds of children released from Australian immigration detention centres or working to provide opportunities for kids living with cancer to just be kids again at Camp Quality.

"More recently, my focus has been on trying to build greater support for vulnerable young Australians facing mental health challenges."

Louise Miller-Frost

After leaving her job as CEO of St Vincent de Paul Society South Australia in the run up to the 2022 federal election, Louise Miller-Frost became the first ALP candidate in 73 years to win the seat of Boothby, in her home state.

Born in the small town of Hollywood outside Birmingham in the UK, Miller-Frost has devoted her working life to making a difference to people's lives, from delivering health services and providing support for older Australians and people with disability to spearheading community projects.

In her maiden speech to parliament, Ms Miller-Frost said much of her then recent work had been in the homelessness sector.

"When we think of homelessness, we are talking about the pointy end of poverty," she said.

"This is the stage where people truly have nothing left, and it's hard to come back from losing everything.

"No-one plans to become homeless – this is not anyone's ambition growing up – yet it happens to more people than you would think."

Ms Miller-Frost told her fellow MPs there were more than 112,000 homeless people counted in the 2016 census, a number that was tipped to rise in the census of 2021 – a prediction that proved correct when homeless numbers increased to more than 122,000.

"We always say in the sector that anyone can become homeless, and when you hear that, I know for many there's a small voice in the back of your head that says, 'Well, yes, but not me,' because we'd all like to think that the benefits that we experience are the result of good decisions that we've made and our hard work.

"And we like to think that because it gives us a feeling of control and safety and security. But, sadly, I'm here to tell you that it can and does happen to people exactly like you and me every day, and to people like your loved ones, your parents, your children, your siblings and your friends."

Ms Miller-Frost said unexpected events ranging from physical illness such as a cancer diagnosis to mental illness, relationship breakdown, death of a spouse, domestic violence or suddenly losing a job can quickly turn a life upside down.

"Suddenly someone who thought their life was stable, secure and independent finds that they have no income coming in and they can't pay the rent."

Ms Miller-Frost said almost half of all South Australian women and 36% of men would not be able to support themselves for more than a month on savings alone.

"It's hard enough trying to survive on JobSeeker, let alone be the preferred tenant in an overly competitive housing market."

More information

People with Purpose: keeping the flame alive