2024-25 was a busy year for ABC Friends, with a number of significant achievements.

ABC Friends Ltd: now a company limited by guarantee  

ABC Friends Limited was registered as a company limited by guarantee (CLG) on 31 July 2024 and our existing incorporated association, ABC Friends Inc, was discontinued. The new Company constitution was developed by ABC Friends with considerable assistance from Arnold Bloch Leibler (ABL), a distinguished legal firm that has provided pro bono services to ABC friends since 2023.  

The establishment of the new company placed new demands on our policies and governance and much of our time since registration has been dedicated to improving internal systems, revising policies and strengthening governance. This is time consuming work, especially for a volunteer organisation, but essential to meet our obligations as a company and to demonstrate to members and supporters that we are using membership fees and donations wisely.  

Gift recipient status 

Following the Company’s registration, ABC Friends Ltd applied for deductible gift recipient status, once again with considerable support from ABL. The ATO approved the application in late June 2025, with approval backdated to 31 July 2024. 

Achieving DGR status has created tremendous opportunities for ABC Friends and it enables us to issue tax receipts for all donations over $2.00, a benefit we are pleased to offer our generous donors. It also placed obligations on us to comply with the ATO’s rules for DGR organisations. Following legal advice, we established a gift fund and put in place internal processes to ensure that all donations are acquitted to comply with ATO rules and consistent with the principal objects of the Company.  

The DGR endorsement and CLG registration followed more than three years work to strengthen our governance, capacity and accountability (and the work continues). 

2025 federal election 

The second half of 2024 and the first five months of 2025 were devoted to ABC Friends’ federal election campaign. 

The campaign was based on four values  A fearless independent ABC  Keep the ABC free  A lifeline in times of crisis  Our Voices. Our Stories. Our ABC

The election platform had six demands: 

Restore funding Restore ABC funding by $140 million per year to be phased in progressively over a 3-year period commencing in 2026. Read more

A lifeline in times of crisis Fully fund the ABC’s emergency service through a supplementary fund dedicated to keeping Australians safe in times of crisis. Read more

Keep the ABC free Guarantee that the ABC remains free-to-access for all Australians: no ads, no subscriptions and no downgrading of services. Read more

A public broadcaster for all Australians Provide additional funding to ensure that high quality ABC services can be received by all Australians across the country. Read more

An independent ABC Guarantee the ABC’s independence. Read more

Stability and certainty Change the indexation formula applied to the ABC, so that it covers the impact of real-world inflation, including the cost of content production. Read more

ABC Friends presented the platform as a questionnaire to the Coalition, the Australian Labor Party, and the Greens (all of whom responded) and to individual candidates in target seats in around 30 electorates nominated by each state ABC Friends organisation. ABC Friends used the responses to inform members, supporters and the general public of where the parties and candidates rated on the ABC. Each scorecard included a detailed analysis off the relevant party responses. The platform will form the basis of ABC Friends’ advocacy over the coming parliamentary term as we hold politicians and parties to account on their commitments. 

All states and territories participated in the ABC Friends campaign with the main elements at national level being: 

• the development of a campaign website 
• extensive social media in the lead up to, and during, the campaign, particularly including posts and videos developed by ABC Friends and ABC Alumni. New posts were created in response to  our analysis of performance and to events as they occurred in real time. 
• the development of campaign materials including corflutes, flyers and posters  
• a campaign petition with a video message from Kerry O’Brien 
• direct contact with politicians to press our case 
• a fundraising program to help meet the costs of the campaign 

ABC Friends Ltd also participated in state-based election events, including an election rally hosted by ABC Friends NSW/ACT which was MC’d by NSW President, Tess Howes, and addressed by the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland,  Greens spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, ABC Alumni chair, Jonathan Holmes, prominent campaigner, Thomas Mayo, and leading anti-corruption crusader at the Centre for Public Integrity, Geoffrey Watson, SC.  

More than 70 members of Parliament and ABC Friends gathered in Canberra on 5 February for a pre-election event which was hosted jointly by ABC Friends Ltd, ABC Friends NSW/ACT, and the convenors of the Parliamentary Friends of the ABC, Rebekha Sharkey and Andrew Wilkie. The event was addressed by Kim Williams and Margaret Simons, with a Q and A hosted by Tony Jones and short presentations from Rebekha Sharkey and Andrew Wilkie.  

The Albanese government 

ABC Friends worked cooperatively with the Albanese government throughout its first term. The government focused on meeting the commitments it made before the 2022 election including: 

• restoration of $84m to reverse the Coalition’s pause in indexation, amounting to a total of $168 million over five years 2022-23 to 2027-28 
• an additional $43m per year for the following five years to ensure that the ABC’s funding remains at pre-indexation pause levels through to 2032-33 
• the introduction of 5 year funding terms  
• the inclusion of terminating measures worth $56 million (for regional newsgathering and audio description for blind and vision impaired Australians) into the ABC’s operating grant to guarantee the long term future of these programs 
• additional funding (including via DFAT) of $40.5 million for the Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy 

ABC Friends recommended all of these measures (and more) in its 2022 election platform. 

The Government also conducted a public review into options to support the independence of the national broadcasters, to which ABC Friends made a submission. The government announced its response to the review in November 2024, but implementation was deferred until after the election. ABC Friends will continue to push for legislative changes to strengthen the ABC’s independence, including a legislated  five year funding cycle and improved processes for appointments to the ABC board. 

A new Minister 

With the election of a second term Labor government, Minister Anika Wells has been appointed to the communications portfolio. ABC Friends will continue to lobby the government on the platform we presented during the election, with an early emphasis on ensuring that the government: 

• Continues to fund the ABC in the Pacific through the Pacific Security and Engagement Initiative, which is set to expire in 2026 
• Implements the findings from the Review of Options to support the National Broadcasters’ Independence, which the government initiated in its first term  
• Increases funding for the ABC to produce more original content on the ABC, noting that there has been a 37% decline on the ABC’s main channel in first round content since 2014. Children’s programmes scripted drama documentaries and factual programming have all declined markedly. the ABC is the main source of Australian content in Australian broadcasting both audio and visual 
• Implements its News Bargaining Incentive to ensure large digital platforms contribute to the sustainability of news media, including the ABC 

Changes at the ABC 

2024–25 saw a number of changes to the board and management of the ABC, most notably the appointment of Kim Williams as the ABC Chair and Hugh Marks as Managing Director. 

Following his appointment in March 2024 Kim Williams wasted no time in launching a vigorous campaign in support of the ABC. He made funding a priority, devoting significant time and energy to meeting senior government ministers, bureaucrats and members of parliament to persuade them of the value of the ABC and the need to support it. We warmly welcome his passion for the ABC. ABC Friends has met with Mr Williams often, he has spoken at our events and he invites ABC Friends to attend ABC events such as the Boyer lectures and the ABC annual showcase. 

Hugh Marks joined the ABC as its Managing Director following the resignation of David Anderson. Like Kim Williams, Mr Marks has engaged with ABC Friends at our events and in meetings with our representatives. His message has been one of optimism, on building confidence within the organisation and improving the quality and impact of its work. His focus is on developing original Australian content, whether in news and current affairs or in scripted drama, children’s programming and factual content. 

Marks is not afraid to acknowledge and rectify any mistakes that the ABC might make and has spelt out the need to maintain clear distinctions between the roles of the board in governance and management in their editorial and programming functions. 

Communications 

ABC Friends’ main means of communicating with its 86,000 members and supporters are the monthly enews, social media and direct emails.  

The enews has a strong readership and attracts regular engagement through calls to action. We track performance for each enews and have developed a good picture of those stories that are of most interest to readers. Each newsletter encourages supporters to join ABC Friends and gently reminds members if their membership has lapsed. 

Over time ABC Friends has increased its output on social media, primarily on Facebook where we have more than 63,000 followers. We encourage social media respondents to visit our website, engage in calls to action, and sign up to receive newsletters. Our priority is to expand ABC Friends’ demographic profile on social media.  

ABC Friends launched a new annual magazine in 2024 to explore broader issues relevant to the ABC and to ABC Friends. 

Membership  

Members are the core support group who make a longer term commitment to ABC Friends, assume governance roles and participate in advocacy, campaigning and community engagement work. 

Although new members continue to join, numbers are vulnerable to losses when memberships come up for renewal. In 2025 ABC Friends established a membership working group, convened by Susan Scott, to maintain and increase membership, facilitate ongoing information exchange and collaboration between the states on membership strategies, develop consistent messaging about why the ABC and ABC Friends are important, and conduct an annual membership drive. 

Fundraising  

ABC Friends is the only organisation in Australia dedicated to supporting and defending a properly-funded ABC that presents news we can trust and original Australian content.  

We run campaigns, advocate to government, communicate with the ABC, hold events, and keep Australians informed about what’s happening at the ABC and public media. But we rely on donations to power our work.  

Although we are almost entirely managed by volunteers, the costs of running the organisation are substantial and growing. Thus, a significant part of our work is in fundraising – almost all of the income for ABC Friends national and state bodies comes from donations and a lesser share from membership fees. Throughout 2024-25 we sought to raise donations through appeals and calls to action. Donors may elect to contribute through one-off donations and monthly giving.  

Thanks  

Thank you to all of those who contributed to ABC Friends in 2024-25, particularly the directors of the board, who do double duty performing roles in their states/territories as well as contributing countless  hours to the national organisation. A special thank you to those directors who have resigned from the board: Peter Tatham (Tasmania), Judy Gonda (SA) Janice Munro (Queensland) and Jenny Meyrick (WA). Thank you to Peter Vandeleur, Treasurer, and Carol Stuart, Vice-President; to Phil Evans, our NationBuilder and social media powerhouse, and Susan Scott, who was appointed as our first administration officer in July 2025 and has taken on the job with intelligence and skill. And a special thank you to ABL, our pro bono lawyers who guided us so effectively in the transition to this next phase of our organisation.  

Cassandra Parkinson
National President
ABC Friends