Social Action Groups
GetUp is an independent, grass-roots community advocacy organisation which aims to build a more progressive Australia by giving everyday Australians the opportunity to get involved and hold politicians accountable on important issues. Whether it is sending an email to a member of parliament, engaging with the media, attending an event or helping to get a television ad on the air, GetUp members take targeted, coordinated and strategic action to effect real change.
Australian Council of Social Services
The Australian Council of Social Service is the peak body of the community
services and welfare sector and the national voice for the needs of people
affected by poverty and inequality
Refugee Action Coalition Sydney (RAC) was established in 1999 to campaign for the rights of refugees trying to seek asylum in Australia. You can see a listing of some of our recent major actions here, and some older events on our old archived website. We are an open grassroots coalition from a broad section of the community. RAC focuses on grassroots organising; distribution of information; educational forums; speakers; lobbying and organising demonstrations, rallies, marches and other actions.
Avaaz empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change. Our model of internet organising allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force
Change.org is the world's largest petition platform, empowering people everywhere to create the change they want to see.
There are more than 40 million Change.org users in 196 countries, and every day people use our tools to transform their communities – locally, nationally and globally. Whether it's a mother fighting bullying in her daughter's school, customers pressing banks to drop unfair fees, or citizens holding corrupt officials to account, thousands of campaigns started by people like you have won on Change.org
Environmental Action Groups
Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organisation that uses non-violent
direct action to expose global environmental problems and to force solutions
which are essential to a green and peaceful future.
Safe Climate Australia is a non-government organisation formed and steered by a foundation group of concerned scientists, community and business leaders with a shared understanding of the scientific and moral imperatives for emergency action to restore a safe climate
The Wilderness Society is a national, community-based, environmental advocacy organisation whose purpose is protecting, promoting and restoring wilderness and natural processes across Australia for the survival and ongoing evolution of life on Earth.
WWF Australia’s missions and goals for biodiversity protection and environmental conservation are the same as WWF’s Global missions and goals. As part of a global conservation network, our Australian work focuses on the environmental issues that are most relevant to our region as well as the issues where Australia is best placed to take a lead.
Institutes
The Australia Institute is the country’s most influential progressive think tank. Based in Canberra, it conducts research on a broad range of economic, social and environmental issues in order to inform public debate and bring greater accountability to the democratic process.
The Institute is funded by memberships, donations from philanthropic trusts and individuals, and commissioned research. With no formal political or commercial ties, the Institute is in a position to maintain its independence while advancing a vision for a fair and progressive Australia
The Institute of Public Affairs
The Institute of Public Affairs is an independent, non-profit public policy think tank, dedicated to preserving and strengthening the foundations of economic and political freedom. Since 1943, the IPA has been at the forefront of the political and policy debate, defining the contemporary political landscape. The IPA supports the free market of ideas, the free flow of capital, a limited and efficient government, evidence-based public policy, the rule of law, and representative democracy. Throughout human history, these ideas have proven themselves to be the most dynamic, liberating and exciting. Our researchers apply these ideas to the public policy questions which matter today.The IPA is funded by individual memberships and subscriptions, as well as philanthropic and corporate donors.
The Centre for Independent Studies
The CIS aims to promote:
- Individual liberty and choice, including freedom of association, religion, speech and the right to property
- An economy based on free markets
- Democratic government under the rule of law
- An autonomous and free civil society
Funding and Independence
CIS is funded solely by private sector donations-from individuals, companies and charitable trusts-as well as subscriptions and books sales 'Independent' in our name means:
- we are politically non-partisan
- our research is not directed by our supporters
The Lowy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan international policy think tank located in Sydney, Australia. Ranked as Australia’s top think tank, the Institute provides high-quality research and distinctive perspectives on the trends shaping Australia and the world and fresh policy options on these questions.
Grattan Institute is an independent think tank dedicated to developing high quality public policy for Australia’s future. It was formed in 2008 in response to a widespread view in government and business that Australia needed a non-partisan think tank providing independent, rigorous and practical solutions to some of the country’s most pressing problems.These three words are vital to Grattan’s mission. We are independent, taking the perspective of the Australian public interest rather than any interest group. We avoid commissioned work to ensure this independence.We are rigorous in obtaining the best available evidence from our own data analysis and from published work. And we are practical in articulating what governments should do to improve the lives of all Australians
