Sector pushes reform agenda as Australians go to the polls

Posted on 29 Apr 2025

By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia

The past few weeks have seen both major political parties make billions of dollars in election promises in the hope of swaying voters to put their trust in them to form government on May 3.

But are Labor and the Coalition prioritising areas that will make a difference to disadvantaged Australians?

As the federal election campaign enters its final week, we’ve pulled together a summary of election campaign wish lists from a cross section of sector organisations.

Mission Australia

Mission Australia urged all political parties and candidates to prioritise investment in safe, affordable housing, support for young people and ending poverty and homelessness.

The organisations listed three key priorities:

Significantly boost the number of social and affordable homes to 10% of all housing stock to meet the need in the community.
Mandate a portion of affordable homes in all new large-scale apartment developments across Australia.
Create a $500 million Homelessness Prevention Transformation Fund to finally end homelessness.

Raise the rate of Jobseeker and other income support payments to at least $82 a day.
Increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance and ensure that it remains an effective payment for those struggling to pay rent.
Legislate an end to child poverty and make children a priority in the Measuring What Matters national wellbeing framework to drive community action.

Fund 15,000 youth tenancies across Australia each year for homeless young people.
Construct ten 40-unit Youth Foyers to support young people’s housing and education, training and employment needs.
Fund services for young people to recover from misuse of alcohol and other drugs, particularly residential services and aftercare supports.

Mission Australia CEO Sharon Callister said that as one of Australia’s largest community housing and service providers, the organisation sees the daily struggle of people unable to afford housing or essential needs.

“Mission Australia also calls for greater support for young people facing adversity, and poverty alleviation measures, including increases to income support payments and Commonwealth Rent Assistance. We need a fairer Australia for all, with major commitments and policies that will help people with the least.”

Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS)

ACOSS urged all parties and candidates to deliver real solutions to address hardship, rising inequality and climate change, and to resist stoking fear and division.

The organisation’s comprehensive list of election policy priorities includes:

increasing income support payments to match the pension rate of $82 a day
ramping up investment in social housing to meet present demand and a commitment towards social housing comprising 10 per cent of all housing stock
ending the chronic under-funding of community service organisations by developing a better funding and grants management model to ensure their long-term viability and ability to meet need, in line with initiatives outlined in the national Not-for-Profit Sector Blueprint
a federal funding boost to accelerate home energy upgrades for all low-income and First Nations housing
an immediate funding boost for essential crisis-response services such as family and domestic violence, community legal services, financial counselling, food and emergency relief, and homelessness services, so they are not forced to turn away anyone in distress.

Volunteering Australia

Volunteering Australia CEO Mark Pearce said volunteering is essential to the fabric of Australian society and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

“The work that volunteers do is not a ‘nice to have’; it is essential work that supports our schools and hospitals, our sporting teams, our aged care and disability services, and our ability to support the community in times of crisis,” said Pearce.

“We are calling on future governments to invest genuinely in the volunteering ecosystem to secure its future, as demands for and on the volunteering ecosystem increase.”

Volunteering Australia’s federal election platform called for:

implementation of the National Strategy for Volunteering, which provides a clear and compelling case for targeted and sufficient investment in volunteering
cost-of-living relief for volunteers so they are not out of pocket for contributing their time and effort and maintaining certifications
an increase in funding for the Volunteer Management Activity funding program, which aims to create opportunities for people to participate in the social and economic life of their community through volunteering
reform of volunteer insurance so that it is consistent and affordable and better protects volunteers
the development of a national volunteer passport to improve the portability of volunteer credentials between organisations and jurisdictions.

People with Disability Australia (PWDA)

PWDA deputy CEO Megan Spindler-Smith said the organisation’s election platform reflected the voices of its national membership and the wider disability community and responded to the persistent systemic failures exposed by the Disability Royal Commission.

“People with disability along with our friends, families and allies are a powerful voting bloc, but too often our voices are ignored,” she said.

“This election, we demand better. All candidates and parties must make explicit commitments to protect our rights and progress our full inclusion.

“We know what works. It’s time for a government that listens to people with disability and acts on our solutions.”

PWDA called on all political candidates and parties to commit to advance disability rights and ensure the full economic and social inclusion of Australians with disability by committing to seven key priorities.

Guarantee long-term, sustainable funding, ensure participant control over supports and prevent cost-cutting that restricts access to essential supports.

Ensure disability supports outside the NDIS are consistently available and delivered. These supports are essential, not optional for the 5.5 million Australians with disability, including the nearly 5 million who aren’t on the NDIS.

Increase income support payments, including the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and JobSeeker, to above the poverty line so people with disability can afford the cost of living and achieve financial security. Increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance to cover the real cost of accessible housing.

Mandate the Liveable Housing Design Silver Standard in the National Construction Code across all states and territories and commit to a national housing plan that meets the needs of people with disability.

Create a Minister for Disability Inclusion in federal Cabinet and establish a dedicated Department of Disability Equality and Inclusion.

Strengthen disability rights through a Human Rights Act and improvements to the Disability Discrimination Act. Fully fund individual and systemic advocacy services so people with disability can protect and enforce their rights.

Increase employment of people with disability, and safeguard diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in federal public sector workplaces.

Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF)

ACF CEO Kelly O’Shanassy urged all political leaders to rise to the challenge of co-creating a healthier, thriving Australia.

“Escalating climate change and the relentless plundering of nature are pushing Australia’s much-loved wildlife, forests and wetlands to the brink,” she said.

“This election is the time for leaders to step up and take decisive action on climate and nature.”

As part of its A National Agenda for Australia’s Nature & Climate ACF called on all candidates and political parties to commit to:

protecting the natural environment by ceasing to bulldoze the bush
championing renewables and cut climate pollution
rejecting nuclear power in favour of renewable energy
ending approvals for big coal and gas projects.

The ACF has also created an election scorecard rating the major parties and independent candidates on their commitments in areas such as protecting the environment, supporting renewable energy and combatting climate change.

Australian Council for International Development (ACFID)

ACFID has called for the new government to increase Australian foreign aid from 0.65 per cent to one per cent of the federal Budget in the first budget after being elected.

ACFID CEO Matthew Maury said the increase was necessary in order to address the growing needs of a world in polycrisis and prevent a further spiraling of inequality, instability and global poverty.

ACFID nominated numerous programs for increased investment, which it said must be targeted to ensure Australia’s development and humanitarian programs are effective and inclusive, as well as prioritised and resourced in a manner commensurate with the challenges facing Australia’s region and the world.

ACFID also called for a commitment to ending government subsidies to fossil fuel companies through the Fuel Tax Credits Scheme and instead diverting the billions of dollars saved towards funding climate adaptation and mitigation activities in developing countries.

“We can address our domestic challenges and support our neighbours simultaneously. The same factors driving the cost-of-living crisis here are causing severe poverty and instability abroad,” said Maury.

ACFID has released a special election edition of the Devpolicy Talks podcast featuring the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, the deputy leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for International Aid and Global Justice Senator, Mehreen Faruqi, and MP Zali Steggall outlining their commitment to foreign aid.

The Coalition declined to participate in the podcast, which is jointly hosted by ACFID, the Safer World for All campaign, the Australian National University Development Policy Centre and the International Development Contractors Community (IDCC).

“We welcome comments from the major parties regarding Australia’s contributions to international development, particularly in our region,” said Maury.

“In a world of increased uncertainty, instability, conflict and climate change, now is the time to put our values of generosity and compassion into action through Australia’s aiHomelessness Australiad budget.”

Homelessness Australia

Homelessness Australia has called on the incoming government to tackle homelessness as a first-order priority.

Homelessness Australia CEO Kate Colvin urged all parties contesting the election to commit to the reforms and investment needed to drive down homelessness, and to better enable homelessness services to respond to increasing homelessness in our community.

Actions called for in the organisations 2025 election platform include:

a $670 million investment in homelessness services to ensure no-one in need is turned away
more investment in social housing to achieve a target of 10 per cent of housing stock
increased income support and Commonwealth Rent Assistance.

Homelessness Australia has also called for new funding for initiatives designed to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including a Homelessness Prevention Fund, an expansion of Housing First and supportive housing programs for people at risk of chronic homelessness and a First Nations led housing and homelessness plan.

Human Rights Law Centre

The Human Rights Law Centre has urged Australians to take a stand during the 2025 election and send the next federal parliament a message that human rights won’t be taken for granted, that they make our lives better and that they must be protected.

The HRLC 2025 federal election platform calls on all parties and independents to put human rights at the heart of government decision making and increase the dignity, equality, and fair access to justice of all people in Australia

raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years of age
effective and independent detention oversight mechanisms, as required under Australia’s international law obligations
an Australian Human Rights Act
a digital duty of care
reform laws to protect whistleblowers across the public and private sectors, including the establishment of a Whistleblower Protection Authority
ending modern slavery in Australian supply chains
banning goods made with forced labour
strengthening the visa protections pilot to include all migrant workers, irrespective of visa status, and removing work restrictions for bridging visa holders
pathways to permanency for all those failed by the “fast track” asylum system, and for people in Australia who were subjected to offshore processing
increase funding for climate-safe social housing and support services for communities at risk from climate-fuelled disasters.

Mental Health Australia

Mental Health Australia CEO Carolyn Nikoloski said her organisation’s platform for the 2025 federal election outlined solutions that an incoming government can immediately implement to ensure all children and young people can access the range and breadth of supports they need to thrive.

“Mental health remains a major priority for Australian voters,” she said.

“Seventy-five per cent per cent think government needs to do more on mental health, and 63 per cent would be more inclined to vote for a party committed to address the accessibility of mental health services.”

Nikoloski urged all parties and candidates to prioritise mental health in their election commitments and beyond, particularly free mental health support for children and young people, through:

creating free and accessible mental health care pathways
expanding existing mental health services to meet need
using the education system as a pathway to mental health support
increasing the focus on prevention
growing the workforce to ensure timely access to support across the country.

Nikoloski said the Coalition announcement that it would invest $400 million in youth mental health if elected showed mental health was very much on the agenda of the election campaign.

Anglicare Australia

Anglicare Australia said its 2025 election priorities were focussed on highlighting those hardest hit by high living costs – people on the lowest incomes.

Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers.

The organisation has taken a multifaceted approach to pursuing its reform agenda

launching an election resource portal, featuring Anglicare’s Investing in People manifesto and election position statements on key issues such as decent incomes, affordable housing and dignity in ageing

penning open letters to the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader outlining Anglicare’s election commitments, which range from increasing the Jobseeker and Youth Allowance payments to investing in more social housing and job creation programs.

In the letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers said Australia has never been more prosperous, yet we are also a nation facing growing inequality.

“As an organisation that speaks for the country’s most disadvantaged people, we are seeking commitments through this open letter to ensure the next term of government builds on your existing achievements and focuses on making Australia fairer – and helping every Australian to lead a dignified life.”