Not-for-profit Sector Freedom to Advocate Act 2013

Administered by Department of Social Services

Legislation au C2013A00056 In force Act

Legislation content

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not‑for‑profit Sector Freedom to Advocate Act 2013

 

No. 56, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

An Act to prohibit Commonwealth agreements from restricting or preventing not‑for‑profit entities from commenting on, advocating support for or opposing changes to Commonwealth law, policy or practice, and for related purposes

 

 

 

Contents

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Definitions

4 Agency not to include prohibited content in Commonwealth agreement

5 Prohibited content

6 Compensation for acquisition of property

7 Application

 

 

 

Not-for-profit Sector Freedom to Advocate Act 2013

No. 56, 2013

 

 

 

An Act to prohibit Commonwealth agreements from restricting or preventing not‑for‑profit entities from commenting on, advocating support for or opposing changes to Commonwealth law, policy or practice, and for related purposes

[Assented to 13 June 2013]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act may be cited as the Not‑for‑profit Sector Freedom to Advocate Act 2013.

2  Commencement

  This Act commences on the day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

3  Definitions

  In this Act:

agency means an entity mentioned in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) or (h) of the definition of agency in subsection 6(1) of the Privacy Act 1988.

Commonwealth agreement means a legally binding agreement between an agency (on behalf of the Commonwealth) and a not‑for‑profit entity.

confidential information means information, the disclosure of which:

 (a) would found an action for breach of confidence; or

 (b) would disclose:

 (i) trade secrets; or

 (ii) any other information having a commercial value that would be, or could reasonably be expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were disclosed; or

 (c) would be a disclosure of information likely to prejudice national security (within the meaning of subsection 17(1) of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004).

not‑for‑profit entity means:

 (a) an entity that is entitled to be registered under the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission Act 2012; or

 (b) a non‑profit body (within the meaning of the Electronic Transactions Act 1999).

prohibited content has the meaning given by section 5.

4  Agency not to include prohibited content in Commonwealth agreement

 (1) An agency must not include prohibited content in a Commonwealth agreement.

 (2) If, apart from this subsection, a Commonwealth agreement includes prohibited content, that prohibited content is void.

5  Prohibited content

 (1) Prohibited content is any requirement that restricts or prevents a not‑for profit entity (including staff of the not‑for‑profit entity) from commenting on, advocating support for or opposing a change to any matter established by law, policy or practice of the Commonwealth.

 (2) However, the requirement is not prohibited content to the extent that it restricts or prevents a not‑for profit entity from disclosing information that:

 (a) is confidential information; or

 (b) is personal information (within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988).

6  Compensation for acquisition of property

 (1) If the operation of this Act would result in an acquisition of property from a person otherwise than on just terms, the Commonwealth is liable to pay a reasonable amount of compensation to the person.

 (2) If the Commonwealth and the person do not agree on the amount of the compensation, the person may institute proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia for the recovery from the Commonwealth of such reasonable amount of compensation as the Court determines.

 (3) In this section:

acquisition of property has the same meaning as in paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution.

just terms has the same meaning as in paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution.

7  Application

 (1) This Act applies to a Commonwealth agreement entered into before, on or after the commencement of this Act.

 (2) Despite subsection (1), subsection 4(1) applies to a Commonwealth agreement entered into on or after the commencement of this Act.

 (3) Subsection (4) applies if, immediately before the commencement of this Act, a Commonwealth agreement includes prohibited content.

 (4) Despite subsection (1):

 (a) subsection 4(2) has the effect that prohibited content in the Commonwealth agreement becomes void on the commencement of this Act; and

 (b) paragraph (a) does not affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the prohibited content before the commencement of this Act.

 

 

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

Senate on 13 March 2013

House of Representatives on 28 May 2013]

 

(49/13)

 

Overview

The Not-for-profit Sector Freedom to Advocate Act 2013 was enacted by the Parliament of Australia to address a specific issue within the relationship between not-for-profit entities and the Commonwealth government. This legislation was introduced to ensure that Commonwealth agreements do not include any provisions that restrict or prevent not-for-profit entities from commenting on, advocating for, or opposing changes to Commonwealth laws, policies, or practices. The policy objective is to uphold and protect the freedom of speech and advocacy rights of not-for-profit organisations, thereby enabling them to contribute effectively to public discourse and policy development. This Act ensures that any agreement entered into by Commonwealth agencies with not-for-profit entities does not contain clauses that inhibit the entities' ability to advocate on matters of public interest, while also providing a mechanism for compensation if the Act results in the acquisition of property from individuals on non-just terms.

Scope and Application

The Not-for-profit Sector Freedom to Advocate Act 2013 applies to Commonwealth agreements, which are legally binding agreements between an agency on behalf of the Commonwealth and a not-for-profit entity. This Act aims to ensure that such agreements do not include any content that restricts or prevents a not-for-profit entity from commenting on, advocating support for, or opposing changes to any matter established by law, policy, or practice of the Commonwealth. The Act applies to agreements entered into before, on, or after its commencement, with specific provisions applying to agreements made after the Act's commencement. The Act defines a not-for-profit entity as an entity entitled to registration under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 or a non-profit body as defined in the Electronic Transactions Act 1999. While the Act prohibits certain content in Commonwealth agreements, it allows for restrictions where the information is confidential or personal. If the operation of this Act results in the acquisition of property from a person otherwise than on just terms, the Commonwealth is liable to pay a reasonable amount of compensation, with disputes over compensation amounts to be resolved by the Federal Court of Australia.

Key Provisions

The Not-for-profit Sector Freedom to Advocate Act 2013 (sections 1 to 7) is a legislative act designed to safeguard the advocacy rights of not-for-profit entities. Specifically, section 4 stipulates that agencies, defined as entities specified under the Privacy Act 1988, must not incorporate any "prohibited content" into Commonwealth agreements. Prohibited content, detailed in section 5, includes any terms that restrict or prevent a not-for-profit entity from commenting on, advocating for, or opposing changes to Commonwealth laws, policies, or practices. However, this restriction does not apply to the disclosure of confidential information or personal information as defined by the Privacy Act 1988. Entities governed by this Act are obligated to ensure that their Commonwealth agreements do not contain any clauses that limit the advocacy rights of not-for-profit entities. This includes reviewing existing agreements and amending them to remove any prohibited content. Furthermore, if the Act results in the acquisition of property from a person without just terms, the Commonwealth is mandated to compensate the affected party, as outlined in section 6. Failure to comply with the Act’s provisions can lead to significant consequences. Section 4(2) declares that any prohibited content included in a Commonwealth agreement is void. This means that such clauses will not be enforceable and will have no legal standing. Additionally, while the Act itself does not explicitly state penalties for non-compliance, breaches may result in legal challenges or the invalidation of the agreement, leading to potential administrative or financial repercussions for the agency involved.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Administrative Law
Civil Litigation & Procedure
Instrument
Act
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Commencement Provisions
Prohibited Conduct
Compensation for acquisition of property

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.