Protecting Australia’s gun safety laws

The Australian Gun Safety Alliance (AGSA) is a broad coalition of voices representing the interests of the community in ensuring that we maintain vigilance on issues of gun safety.

Issue

When the Impact Fund supported the establishment of AGSA in 2017, the gun lobby in Australia was gaining influence in the debate over gun safety legislation. Without a strong alternative voice to that lobby, there was a real risk that Australia’s gun safety protections would be watered down. 

Response

Founding members of AGSA recognised that a national response was required to counter this threat and sought to build a national coalition of broad-based community and professional organisations to advocate for the protection of Australia’s gun safety framework. Initial members articulated a clear vision and approach for organisations to work together on the issue, and engaged in a series of discussions with organisations with an aligned interest in gun safety, leading to the formation of the Australian Gun Safety Alliance.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• The establishment of a strong, broad-based Alliance to advocate for gun safety: AGSA is now made up of over 30 organisations across Australia and acts as a strong and recognised voice for gun safety. 
• Influencing policy dialogue and debate: AGSA is now a recognised gun safety voice at the policy table and is influencing policy decisions, including the implementation of a permanent National Firearm Amnesty in 2021.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“We bring those voices to the table when it comes to firearm safety, and we will forever be thankful to the Impact Fund community, who saw an opportunity to take this need off the page and into action.” – Stephen Bendle, Convenor, AGSA

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Large Grants round: $70,000 for seed funding (over two years)
• 2020 ‘Supporting Our Partners’ Covid-19 Agile Grant: $20,000 in core funding

Uniting Australians to support the LGBTIQ+ community

Equality Australia (EA) exists to improve the wellbeing and circumstances of LGBTIQ+ people in Australia and their families. More specifically, EA works to reduce the stigma and discrimination LGBTIQ+ people face, and to advance and promote equality and inclusion.

Marriage equality

ISSUE

In August 2017, the Federal Government announced the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey – a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia.

RESPONSE

The Equality Campaign quickly emerged as a broad coalition of Australians working to secure a Yes vote. The Human Rights Law Centre, where Equality Australia’s Founding CEO Anna Brown was working at the time, was central in ensuring the passage of legislation to deliver marriage equality. Equality Australia was born out of this work.

Religious Discrimination Bill

ISSUE

The proposed Religious Discrimination Bill was supposed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religious belief or activity (including having no religious belief or refusing to engage in religious activity) in certain areas of public life, such as employment, education and the provision of goods and services.

But the Bill that was drafted threatened to undermine inclusive workplaces, schools and access to services like healthcare without judgement. Laws which should protect religious people from discrimination would have been used to hand a licence to discriminate against LGBTIQ+ people, women, people with disability, and others.

RESPONSE

In 2019, Equality Australia began working in close partnership with businesses, community organisations, and individual advocates to make sure that laws in the name of religion protect people of faith without winding back protections from discrimination for LGBTIQ+ people,  women, and people with disability.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• Marriage equality achieved
• Religious Discrimination Bill shelved indefinitely

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“It is really wonderful to have funders like the Impact Fund community who understand that to protect equality we need the freedom to respond swiftly to the political landscape.” – Anna Brown, CEO, Equality Australia

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Agile Grant: $25,000 for YES campaign
• 2018 Agile Grant: $15,000 for All Schools, Same Rules campaign
• 2021 Agile Grant: $37,000 for Freedom for Discrimination campaign (Religious Discrimination Bill)

Protecting people from gambling harm

The Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) is a national advocacy organisation which works to prevent and minimise the harm from gambling. AGR’s aim is to remove the shame that surrounds gambling addiction, have the problem treated as a public health issue, and achieve the legislative changes needed to protect communities.

Issue

The harm caused by gambling impacts people and communities in many different ways. There are around 500,000 people in Australia who are experiencing high or severe levels of harm from gambling. On average, these people lose $21,000 a year.

Poker machine gambling continues to be the largest contributor to gambling harm, resulting in losses of more than $12 billion every year.

Response

In late 2016, AGR secured a powerful win in their campaign to reduce harm from poker machine gambling. After sustained campaigning, Coles announced that they would implement a trial to limit the maximum bet to $1 on its poker machines in South Australia and Queensland. Shortly after, the Impact Fund came on as an early supporter to help AGR leverage the momentum that was building at the time.

Through the Pokies Play You campaign, AGR is reframing gambling as a public health issue and supporting brands and AFL clubs to divest from the poker machine industry.

Progress update

UPDATED MARCH 2022

• Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and nine AFL clubs have divested from the poker machine industry.

What the Impact Fund’s support means

“Impact Funders are willing to back risky ideas and uncertain paths to advance social change… the Impact Fund community understood our vision from the beginning.” – Tony Mohr, Executive Director (2016–20), AGR

Read case study in Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund

Grants

• 2017 Large Grants round: $60,000 for Pokies Play You campaign
• 2020 ‘Supporting Our Partners’ Covid-19 Agile Grant: $25,000 in core funding

IMPACT AREA 

SAFEGUARDING OUR ENVIRONMENT 

YEAR FIRST SUPPORTED 2017 

Protecting Country and Culture through Indigenous land and sea management. 

Organisation – Country Needs People 

Country Needs People is a leading independent Indigenous-led, non-profit organisation solely dedicated to growing, securing and amplifying the work of Indigenous-led land and sea management in Australia. 

PROTECTING COUNTRY AND CULTURE THROUGH INDIGENOUS LAND AND SEA MANAGEMENT 

Alongside over 50 Indigenous partner groups and with a majority Indigenous board, Country Needs People’s work includes: 

• Assisting in growing the network of Indigenous Rangers and Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) around Australia, and providing practical and direct partner support to community-based Indigenous Ranger teams; 

• Consolidating our efforts in remote Australia, while extending our reach into new regions to provide support to burgeoning groups for their on-Country aspirations; 

• Helping to strengthen Indigenous Ranger programs to protect biodiversity, manage fire and invasive species, and build culturally informed management approaches – keeping people, nature and culture strong; and 

• Maintaining support across the political spectrum for Indigenous land and sea management by advocating to state and federal governments, and ensuring governments deliver their funding promises. 

ORGANISATION WEBSITE: WWW.COUNTRYNEEDSPEOPLE.org.au 

ISSUE 

The future health of large parts of Australia is now inseparable from the growth and security of Indigenous land and sea management. Traditional land management practices on Country reinforce communities’ connection to land and culture, contribute to individual and community wellbeing, provide self-determination, a source of employment, and promote landscape health and sustainability. There are now over 129 Indigenous Ranger groups across Australia managing over 25% of Australian land and sea Country, so it is more important than ever to ensure Indigenous land and sea management is well supported and secured into the future.  

RESPONSE 

Country Needs People is solely dedicated to Indigenous-led land and sea management in Australia. Alongside over 50 Indigenous partner groups, we have worked hard to build cross-partisan support to strengthen and increase funding for Indigenous land and sea management. We have mobilised Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to support the work of Indigenous Rangers, with over 120,000 people participating in our campaigns.   

Our advocacy has delivered government funding directly for Indigenous Rangers and Indigenous Protected Areas. Our unique model combines our advocacy with practical, direct support to Indigenous Ranger groups and Traditional Owners on Country and sea, to support them to grow and strengthen their work.  

PROGRESS UPDATE 

UPDATED NOVEMBER 2025 

Our advocacy achievements 

Our work, with our Indigenous partner organisations, is delivering major gains including: 

• Over $1.7 billion to extend current Indigenous Ranger contracts and double the number of federally funded Ranger positions by 2030 adding 1,000 new jobs 

• Doubling of Queensland Indigenous Ranger jobs 

• More opportunities for women rangers through a job equity target 

• More than 42 million additional hectares of Australia in Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) since 2016 

• IPAs now make up over 54% of Australia’s protected areas on land, and protection of Sea Country across Australia is also growing rapidly 

• Federal Government funding to grow the IPA network, allocating $245 million over 5 years 

• Model has been adapted internationally: The Land Needs Guardians movement in Canada is pursuing the same recognition of the benefits of traditional land management for both Country and people. 

WHAT THE IMPACT FUND’S SUPPORT MEANS 

“Country Needs People ensures Indigenous Rangers get the support they need to look after sea and land Country.” – Rarrtjiwuy Melanie Herdman, Yolngu Traditional Owner 

“Impact Funders have helped us grow from a campaign to an independent organisation, delivering significant dividends for our environment and Indigenous wellbeing.” – Patrick O’Leary, Executive Director, CNP 

Read Case Study in: Making Change Together: Five years of the Impact Fund 

Winning the national energy debate

The Climate Council is Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation. The Climate Council provides authoritative, expert advice to the Australian public on climate change and solutions based on the most up-to-date science available.

Issue

Australia’s energy infrastructure is ageing, inefficient, polluting and must be replaced over the coming decades. The cost of large-scale renewables is now cheaper than new fossil fuels and costs are expected to continue to fall. Globally the energy transition from fossil fuels is now happening apace, but there has been little forward planning by the Australian government to smooth the transition for workers, communities or energy consumers.

Response

The Climate Council’s 2017 project, “Winning the National Energy Debate”, was designed to cut through and make a substantive difference in changing public opinion on this hotly contested issue. The project used a public narrative change model, honed over the last three years, to help shift the debate around climate change. The Climate Council is contuining to provide expert advice to the Australian public on climate change. The Council’s Climate Media Centre is partnering with 350.org Australia to Change Australia’s Story on Gas – one of the Impact Fund’s 2022 Collaborations.

The Fight for our Reef project is mobilising the Cairns tourism industry and local climate change movement to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Existing policy and investment decisions are being economically rather than environmentally led and are not protecting the Reef. There is a lack of acknowledgement or urgency on the part of governments in Australia to recognise and respond to the threat of climate change and its effects on the Great Barrier Reef. The mining and other industries have had a significant influence over government policy.

The project is bringing an industry voice in support of the environment into the climate change debate by working at a grassroots level to engage and mobilise local community members and reef-based industries to advocate for stronger protection of the Great Barrier Reef.

You can read more information about the project here.