Non-government organisations

Introduction

Non-government organisations (NGOs) are not-for-profit organisations that are usually founded upon the objective of achieving a vision. Most of the time, this vision addresses some form of social or environmental injustice or concern. Through their provision of community services and awareness-raising campaigns, NGOs work towards achieving change in their area of concern. NGOs do this by informing government policy, administering government-funded services, strengthening the relationships between the community, private and public sectors, and advocating (promoting) for a more just, equitable and sustainable society. NGOs are sometimes referred to as charities because of their not-for-profit philosophy.

Purpose and functioning of NGOs in Australia

In Australia there are over 700,000 NGOs, which together form a 'middle-ground' between the government, private and community sectors. They can take the form of associations, foundations, community groups or professional societies, and can be religiously-grounded or secular (non-religious). Now the biggest provider of welfare services to the Australian public, the non-government sector employs close to seven per cent of the Australian workforce.

Some NGOs have an international focus and are part of global movements (e.g. Amnesty International), while others concern themselves exclusively with domestic or local issues (e.g. the Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of Kakadu). NGOs usually have a specific environmental, health or social agenda - examples being the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), The Red Cross and The Smith Family respectively. Sometimes NGOs unite to form a coalition when confronting a common cause of concern, an example being the 'Make Poverty History' road trip campaign, held across Australia in November 2005, which united over 50 Australian NGOs.

NGOs have been operating to help the disadvantaged in Australia even before government welfare services were available. They have made a considerable contribution to the community through promoting social justice and environmental conservation, and working to eradicate disadvantage.

One of the principle purposes of NGOs is to raise public knowledge of issues affecting people and the environment. This is often achieved through running media and publicity campaigns, lobbying council members and politicians, organising public seminars, and holding petitions. This sort of mobilisation around a cause of concern is where we can see the concept of active citizenry (refer to Chapter 3) put into practice, in order to affect some sort of positive change to the status quo.

Within the NGO sector, revenue is raised through the sale of goods and services, government grants, donations from individuals and private sector groups, and community fundraising. In order to keep expenditure to a minimum, most NGOs also rely heavily on the contributions of volunteers. In 2004 it was estimated that 6.3 million Australian adults participated in some form of voluntary work, the most common activity being fundraising for NGOs. See images 1 and 2

NGOs working with governments

As they conduct hands-on work with local communities and usually have a great deal of experience in identifying community needs, NGOs play an important role in the public policy process. Often this is through writing submissions (suggestions) on proposed changes to legislation, which are then debated in parliament. Bigger NGOs often have very large, well-established governance structures and a high level of transparency. This means that they are open about the way funds are received and used within the organisation. For these reasons NGOs are often responsible for implementing government-funded community programs, which can involve large sums of public money.

The Communities for Children initiative is an example of this relationship between NGOs and the government. It is a new program currently being modelled by the federal government as a model for how the government and NGO sectors can work together to improve policies and services in the area of child welfare. In 45 communities Australia-wide, various NGOs have been granted funding to act as partners in the program. This means they have been given money from the government to deliver programs which aim to ensure that families in need are provided with support for raising their children.

Australia's major environmental concerns and NGOs

Key NGOs concerned with advocating for environmental conservation in Australia are: the Australian Conservation Foundation; the Wilderness Society; and Greenpeace. Each State or Territory also has a Conservation Council, which is usually the peak body representing all conservation and environment-related NGOs in that State. See image 3