Make your actions count! CounterAct was launched in 2012 to support communities in taking effective, creative, strategic action on issues of environmental and social justice.

We spent five years under the umbrella of Friends of Earth Australia and we worked on some excellent collaborative projects together, but changed structure in 2018 to step out on our own as, CounterAct: Building People Powered Action which is an incorporated non-profit, and decided to sacrifice charity status for more freedom in our work.

From our constitution:

CounterAct is a not-for-profit organisation that supports communities across Australia to protect the natural environment and work for social justice and human rights. This is done by providing training, educational resources and capacity building to support communities and activists.

The Objectives of the Association are to:

  1. increase the knowledge and practical ability of communities to protect the
    natural environment and to work for a safer climate;
  2. build the ability of grassroots activists and communities to advocate and
    campaign for human, and legal rights, environmental & social justice, by
    creating educational resources, sharing skills, and conducting training;
  3. build public awareness of strategic non-violence and the critical role of civil
    resistance to effect social, environmental and climate justice;
  4. encourage and promote participatory democracy, by supporting communities
    to build their power, and educate them on actively engaging with political
    processes, and;
  5. support the Aboriginal community in asserting self determination, increase
    awareness among non-Indigenous communities to accept and promote
    Aboriginal leadership, and work in effective solidarity in organising for
    environmental and social justice.

Across the country we are seeing a growing network of concerned citizens taking on large multinationals and government to defend their right to clean air, water, a safe climate and for social justice, and human rights. We help you to CounterAct the corporate-government system with training and skills to grow your community or campaign.

CounterAct provides training in civil resistance, non-violence, direct action skills, campaigning and community organising across Australia. We aim to increase capacity and skills amongst grassroots activists whilst encouraging a culture of skill sharing, and making activism accessible for everyday folk.

We can advise and train you on strategy, organising and campaigning skills, social and traditional media, digital privacy and security culture, group dynamics, facilitation and coordinating volunteers, as well as how to coordinate your own safe, and peaceful non-violent actions.

We have run workshops for, or collaborated with, The Centre for Australian Progress, The Wilderness Society, United Voice, Pokies Play You, Quit Coal, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Frontline Action on Coal, Leard Forest Alliance, Friends of the Earth, Lock the Gate, Save Bastion Point, No Macca’s in Tecoma, 350.org, Broome No gas, refugee rights activists, the East West tunnel campaign and more.

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We also develop and share resources that increase the effectiveness of campaigners – and regularly add to our resource section.

Find out more about our people here.

Get in touch if you would like to collaborate, suggest or request a workshop, or would like to share resources.

CounterAct acknowledges the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the many nations of this country, and will work respectfully with traditional owners in the course of our projects. CounterAct has received seed funding from Melbourne Social Forum, and works collaboratively with a range of organisations, including Pace E Bene, Plan to Win, Frontline Action on Coal and Melbourne Activist Legals.

Our ABN is 62 316 978 726.