Advance Australia was launched in 2018, with the express purpose of counteringGetUp, aprogressive Australian lobbying group.[2][3] In its first four months, Advance Australia raised A$395,000 and signed up 27,500 members.[4]
The national director of Advance Australia was Gerard Benedet, a formerLiberal Party staffer who led the organisation during the2019 Australian federal election.[4] Benedet stood down in September 2019, and was replaced by Liz Storer, formerCity of Gosnells councillor,[5][6] and advisor to ex-Liberal senatorZed Seselja.[7] Former Prime MinisterTony Abbott has provided strategic advice to the organisation.[8] Matthew Sheahan serves as executive director and has been described as the "main man" behind Advance.[9]
By May 2019, it had raised $1.7 million, according to Benedet.[10] It raised money through donations on its website.[11] Benedet said that the membership was 60 per cent male and had an average age of about 50.[12]
As of 2019[update] Advance Australia's independence had not been tested by theAustralian Electoral Commission (AEC) in the same manner as similar lobby groups.[15] Advance's leadership is largely composed of former Liberal Party operatives[16] and has employed the likes of Liberal Party SenatorJacinta Nampijinpa Price.[17]
In 2022–2023 Advance raised A$5.2 million in donations, according to theAustralian Electoral Commission (AEC). This was more than $2.5 million it received in 2021–2022.[18]
As of June 2024[update] the group's supporters numbered around 306,000.[19]
The group has stated that it opposes left-wing activists who it says are trying to change the Australian way of life. It decries radicalism andpolitical correctness, espousing what it calls "mainstream values".[20] In 2019 it promoted family values, free markets,meritocracy, business, aJudeo-Christian heritage, a strong defence force, and national borders.[21][22][23][24][25][26]
The group believes thatanthropogenic climate change is a "hoax", with national director Liz Storer in 2020 describing the teaching of thepredominant scientific view as "the other side of the story being shoved down their throats... The left have infiltrated our education systems."[7]
Advance Australia's national director Liz Storer vowed upon her appointment in September 2019 to target the "militant advance of climate activism" and in particular, the protest groupExtinction Rebellion, whom she described as "criminals who pose a menace to society".[30]
In 2020, Advance Australia commenced a campaign aimed at children with an e-book titled10 climate facts to expose the climate change hoax. They claim that a "consensus" goes against the "scientific method" and that there are many recognised scientists who do not agree that human generation ofCO 2 is the "control knob" of climate. The group are seeking to have their material distributed in classrooms. However the New South Wales Department of Education has stated it would not allow Advance Australia's in schools as they are not objective and would be in violation of the Controversial Issues in Schools policy. The Victorian Education MinisterJames Merlino has described the book as "rubbish", adding "this organisation is a front for a group of ill-informedclimate change deniers".[7]
In 2024, Advance, along with the Liberal Party, ran a campaign against theAlbanese government's policy to introducefuel efficiency standards for vehicles. The group claimed, wrongly, that this policy was a tax,[32] and published an advertisement featuring a picture ofNational Farmers Federation president David Jochinke without his permission. The farmers' lobby said that it did not share Advance's policies on climate change, and that it was committed to the government's net zero target.[33]
In November 2025, Advance continued to campaign against net zero plans, launching an online campaign to pressure Liberal Party MPs to drop support for net zero targets.[34] Earlier in the month, theNationals abandoned their net zero commitments and proposed Australia instead follow OECD averages for emissions reductions and focus on adaptation.[35] On the 13th of November the Liberal Party announced it would abandon the target of net zero emissions by 2050 but remain in theParis Agreement.[36]
Costumed characters named Captain GetUp and Freddie Foreign Money appeared in electorates where GetUp was trying to unseat Liberals who had been key supporters of a leadership challenge byPeter Dutton[37][38]
A documentary-style series was launched on social media attacking GetUp.[39]
Advance set up campaigns to oppose theVoice to Parliament,[45] encouraging voters to vote No in the2023 referendum on the matter. Its campaigns include a new social media advertising campaign titled "The Voice is Not Enough" (or just "Not Enough"),[46] aimed at a young demographic and targeting the "progressive no" vote, suggesting that the Voice would be too weak, or was not the main priority forAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As part of this campaign, they misrepresented the views of some Indigenous people and used others' photos without their permission.[47] It has also created a "Referendum News" Facebook page,[48] which showed only anti-Voice posts, and by May 2023 the group had spent thousands of dollars on Facebook andInstagram ads.[2]
Advance spent nearly $300,000 running advertising against Labor in the2024 by-election for the federal seat ofDunkley in southeasternMelbourne, triggered by the death of sitting Labor MPPeta Murphy. Its campaign was described variously as ‘Trumpian’, ‘misinformation’ and a ‘fear campaign.’[16][52] Despite Advance's efforts, Labor held the seat.[53]
Advance were the highest-spending lobby group during the lead-up to the2025 Australian election, spending A$1,762,435 on advertising that mostly targeted seats that could be won by theAustralian Greens.[54]
The group has been criticised, primarily by progressive groups, for distributing misinformation[55] and for purportedly campaigning for the Liberal Party, to which Advance has close links.[56] it has been criticised for not revealing where much of its funding comes from[18] and for criticising ‘elites’, while receiving significant funding from the rich and powerful.[57][58]
In April 2025,The Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald published articles investigating 'behind Advance’s propaganda machine – and its deluge of disinformation – are links to the far right in the US.' It outlined how Advance has copied American-style 'MAGA model' campaigning to claim independence, when most of its staff come from right-wing political parties, how it claims to be publicly funded, while most of its money comes frombillionaires, and how it shares known disinformation, like the false claim that offshore wind farms kill whales.[59]
In July 2025, Advance was criticized for repurposing footage of identifiable children without obtaining consent in an ad attacking Welcome to Country ceremonies.[60]
^George and Paul (24 November 2018)."Gerard Benedet".2GB (Podcast). Macquarie Media. Event occurs at 06:34.Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved4 May 2019.
^Koslowski, Max (13 March 2019)."Advance Australia, the conservative GetUp!, comes to Tony Abbott's rescue".The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Publishing.Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved7 May 2019.... It will focus on the seats of Dickson, Deakin, Boothby and Warringah, held respectively by Peter Dutton, Michael Sukkar, Nicolle Flint and Mr Abbott ... Advance Australia will also campaign in Indi, the regional Victorian seat which is wide open following independent Cathy McGowan's decision to retire.
