Every Australian Counts: helping to deliver the NDIS

This multi award-winning campaign elicited one of the most significant social reforms of the 21st Century in Australia – the creation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Prior to the NDIS, many people living with disability had little or no government support, and the services that did exist often didn’t suit people’s individual needs. It was hard to get a good education, find a job, and be included in the community. For too long, governments ignored this problem. But in the late 2000s, campaigners and policy experts started talking about a new national system with enough funding to provide tailored, individual support. No more missing out, no more waiting lists, no more “one size fits all”. The challenge was to convince politicians and the public to make it a reality.

In 2011, Essential worked with the National Disability and Carers Alliance (NDCA) to launch the Every Australian Counts campaign. Using our social research capabilities, we conducted in-depth analysis of public attitudes, and this intelligence allowed us to frame the issue in a way which would garner maximum support. We worked with NDCA to create all the building blocks a new campaign needs – a visual brand identity, website, and strategies and plans for communicating across a range of channels, including social and news media.

For any campaign to be successful, you must mobilise, unite and listen to your supporters. Essential worked with Every Australian Counts to build and nurture a 150,000-strong supporter community – a powerful demonstration of the size of the movement that no government could overlook. In 2013, the NDIS was brought into law with cross-party support. This was a huge win for the campaign, and for every Australian living with disability. But the work did not stop there. Every Australian Counts continues to hold governments to account, and Essential has been there to provide strategic advice and support during key milestones. In 2017, we released the first NDIS community report card – sharing hundreds of stories and arranging a delegation to Parliament to secure funding. In the lead up to the 2022 election, we worked to ensure the NDIS was high on the political radar. Every Australian Counts is more than a moment in time or a single goal. The campaign continues to ensure the voices of people with disability are heard by decision-makers, and the online and offlines supporter community has become a valued space to share information and find solidarity.

Fight for the Reef successfully defended one of the world’s natural wonders, the Great Barrier Reef. It started in 2013, when the Federal Government approved the expansion of a coal port near Airlie Beach. Knowing this would lead to permanent damage to the reef, two of Australia’s largest environmental organisations – WWF and the Australian Marine Conservation Society – decided to launch a large-scale campaign to fight the expansion and protect the reef from further industrialisation. Seeking support with campaign strategy and execution, they engaged Essential, and Fight for the Reef was born.

Essential’s research showed 89% of Australians thought protecting the reef was the nation’s most important environmental issue, but the mining-industry was mounting a strong counter-campaign, spruiking industrialisation of reef areas as a creator of local jobs. In order for us to show politicians that their constituents in Bowen and Airlie Beach were as willing to fight (and vote) for reef conservation as constituents in Sydney and Melbourne, we needed to know more about the communities on the frontline of this issue.

The campaign design phase involved extensive polling and focus groups. This found that while locals were concerned about the environmental impact on the reef, their main concern was the economic impact of a loss of tourism if the reef were to be irrevocably damaged. Here was a framing that made sense to them: fighting for the reef meant fighting for jobs. These insights allowed us to develop a narrative that clearly articulated the problem and the solution in a way that resonated with locals. We rolled this out through a multi-channel advertising strategy and earned media campaign, complemented by inside track advocacy to decision-makers. People who may not normally have related to the messages of environmental organisations saw their own values and priorities reflected in the messaging of Fight for the Reef, and they joined with people from all around Australia to form a 260,000-strong movement.

Fight for the Reef contributed to a change of government in Queensland which ultimately stopped the expansion of several coal ports. The campaign contributed to the introduction of a ban on new dumping of dredge spoil in the Marine National Park Area, and protection for important parts of the reef coastline including Cape York and the Fitzroy Delta. Key to the campaign’s success was an evidence-driven communications strategy – something we are proud to be able to deliver from end-to-end as the leading hybrid research-campaigning agency for progressive Australia.

The Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five initiative is led by philanthropist Nicola Forrest and former South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill. Its mission –  to ensure every child has the best possible start to life – led it to launch a major advocacy campaign with Essential’s assistance, to realise a universal, affordable and high-quality early learning system.

Australia’s early childhood system was in need of significant reform. Childcare and preschool was prohibitively expensive with long waitlists, and many families struggled to even get a place. With so many children missing out on the cognitive and social benefits, 22% of Australian children were arriving at school developmentally vulnerable. At the same time, the inability to access and afford childcare was keeping many parents, usually women, at home when they wanted to return to work. Early childhood educators were also facing challenges, with low pay and a lack of recognition of their skills.

Minderoo and Essential knew this was not going to be a simple campaign with a singular goal. The responsibility for early childhood spans all tiers of government – federal, state/territory and local – often across multiple ministries. Early childhood policy was disconnected and incoherent. Thrive By Five was launched to push for coordinated reforms to bring about a universal, high-quality, accessible and affordable early childhood system.

Since 2020 Thrive by Five has established and nurtured an alliance of more than 100 diverse organisations and more than 100,000 supporters – a powerful demonstration of the salience of the issue to the voting public. Currently, the campaign achieves almost 15,000 media hits per year, and has a yearly organic social media reach of around 8 million. Essential also supports the campaign with event management, video production, graphic design and ad buying – with messaging and audience strategy informed by Essential Research.

While this is an enormous generation reform with more work to do, Thrive by Five has achieved significant wins. Federal Labor made early childhood education a key pillar of its 2022 election policy, significantly increasing the childcare subsidy once elected. Since 2020 there have been more than $70 billion in new funding announcements for early learning across federal, state and territory governments, including the introduction of free kinder in NSW and Victoria. Minderoo’s campaign is shifting the dial on the way decision-makers and the public think about early childhood education in Australia – from mere child minding, to a vital part of the education system that contributes to the economy, advances gender equality and can make or break family budgets during a cost-of-living crisis.

Research  |  Strategy  |  Campaigns

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