The Community Independents Movement in Australia is a grassroots political movement that empowers local communities to select and support independent candidates focused on integrity, climate action, and transparency. Since 2013, it has reshaped politics, especially post-2022.
Problems and Purpose
The Community Independents Movement (CIM) came up from a big feeling of disappointment with the conventional party politics in Australia. A lot of people thought that the current political system wasn't living up to its promises and that their opinions were not given importance. In fact, according to a 2023 local consultation, 86% of participants in one region felt that their elected authorities did not adequately represent them [1]. Many felt that “our democracy is not delivering the benefits it could or should” [2]. People noticed the big political parties seemed to care more about sticking to their party's ideas and helping certain groups instead of helping everyone in the community [3]. This made people upset, and they wanted better representation and leaders who would listen more.
The Community Independents Movement aims to enable communities to take initiative and drive change in the political landscape [4]. Instead of going along with the typical political setting, everyday individuals have come together to choose and back independent candidates who focus on community needs and stand for principles such as honesty and responsibility. These community-supported independents offer a different option to the two-party system by paying attention to what their constituents care about and prioritizing the issues that matter to their communities. Key policy issues that community independents focus on are taking more decisive steps to address climate change, enhancing political integrity through measures like anti-corruption initiatives, and tackling social matters such as gender equity [5]. For instance, a lot of supporters were driven by their frustration with the government's lack of action on climate change and ethical concerns; they looked for representatives who would genuinely address these issues instead of engaging in political "gamesmanship" [6]. Overall, the movement provides common man or woman an opportunity “to turn up, speak up and step up” in politics, tackling issues that conventional party politicians have often overlooked.
Background History and Context
Australia has a tradition of independent politicians. However, community independents are a new model of what it means to be involved in politics and make changes. A significant moment was Cathy McGowan's 2013 campaign in the rural seat of Indi. Supported by a community organization called Voices for Indi, McGowan defeated a long-standing party member by running a campaign driven by community involvement and local issues. This victory demonstrated a new way of organizing communities around above-the-party, accountable elections that is driven by community [7]. This wins inspired others, such as Dr. Kerryn Phelps, who contested and won a by-election in Sydney in 2018 and Zali Steggall, who beat former Prime Minister Tony Abbott in 2019, who similarly ran as independents driven by their community [8]. These early wins demonstrated that despite Liberal or Labour being strongholds, a strong independent candidate and community campaigning could bring together the disaffected in an area.
The movement gained significant recognition nationally during the 2022 federal election. Because many candidates utilized the teal colour for their campaigns, it was often referred to as the “teal wave.” In that federal election, independent candidates won seats in Parliament and were a notable threat to the current government. Seven independents, known as “teal,” were elected to the federal House of Representatives. This included six women and one man, all of whom defeated members of the Liberal Party in city and suburban seats [9]. Overall, this formed the largest group of independent members in the lower house since the establishment of the Australian party system [10]. What was shocking was that most voters turned their backs on the main parties. Overall, those votes dropped to only 68% for both of parties, which is the lowest in over 80 years [11]. Scholars observed that this change in support demonstrated that voters desire to challenge traditional forms of political competition between Labour and Liberal [12]. In summary, 2022 was an important year of demonstrating a break from two political parties in Australia driven by their demand for new leaders and greater accountability from them.
By 2024, the community independents model also revolutionized state and territory politics. In October 2024, independent candidates also won seats in state elections. Jacqui Scruby, for example, won a by-election in New South Wales (Pittwater), and some independents were elected to the Australian Capital Territory assembly [13]. These results disclosed that the "teal wave" wasn't just a fleeting instant, but a strong and persistent movement in Australian politics [14]. Prior to the 2025 federal election, there are several community independent campaigns ongoing around the country. In summary, the CIM started because individuals were unhappy with party politics. It has had some initial successes, like Indi 2013, became extremely famous in 2022, and continues to expand its reach in many aspects of the government.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The Community Independents Movement is a distributed, grassroots movement with a robust support network. Local community groups are very important to the Movement. Local community groups are in different locations and are volunteer led. These groups often have names like "Voices of (Region)" (for example Voices of Kooyong, Voices of the Top End). Many of these groups began with one or two people in a community getting together to talk about the issues they were dealing with locally and finding a way to work collectively to explore getting someone to represent them. These groups work independently in each community, but they share similar values and often have discussions through larger communities.
The Community Independents Project (CIP) is a significant group that promotes initiatives connecting and supporting local campaigns in communities across the country. The CIP is not a cash-making entity, but it disseminates toolkits, training, and knowledge sharing opportunities for community groups and independent candidates [15]. The impetus for CPR came from early success, “the success in the federal area of Indi led to the establishment of the Community Independents Project” [16]. CIP can help make best practices explicit, such as how to have “kitchen table conversations” or to raise money in the community. CIP also organizes conventions for volunteers and candidates. Essentially, it is a type of support system for a flexible group to help community campaigns learn from, and feel connected to, something bigger.
The movement gets help with funding and resources from both local and national sources. According to local sources, funding is raised for community independent campaigns through small donations and volunteers in the local area [17]. Climate 200 Group donors support independent candidates who prioritize climate issues and transparency. Their 2022 donations were significant-maleficently and are still expected to fund such candidates in the coming elections. By mid-2024, Climate 200 had spent $200,000 on independent campaigns across twelve defined electorates and planned to spend another million by the end of the year [18]. For executive director Byron Fay, Climate 200 is supporting those independent candidates because “people are not supporting the major parties as much anymore: they want better choices,” when it comes to issues like climate and democracy [19].
Similarly in the Northern Territory, there is a special program called Represent NT. This program helps to collect money and resources for community candidates in that area [20]. Represent NT wants to “balance big party power with better representation.” They do this by gathering community donations and support for independent candidates who have similar values [21]. This type of regional organizing shows how the movement has created new ways to work outside the party system.
The success of the movement depends not only on money but also on people. Volunteer work and community organizing are maybe the most important resource that the CIM has. Campaign strategists say that many independent candidates in the past failed because they did not have the same support and resources that political parties have [22]. The community independents have worked hard to close that gap by bringing together many volunteers in each area and running well-organized campaigns.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
It has been essential in the Community Independents Movement to identify the right people. Community independents are nominated by the people in their community while party candidates are typically nominated through a party platform utilized internally. Local groups tend to hold a few discussions to identify the qualities and priorities they would like in a representative. In those discussions, or within "kitchen table conversations" (KTCs), community members can learn about and discuss topics that concern them, and the desired or ideal outcomes in their community. These KTCs are recorded in detail and distributed for analysis [23].
The community group usually creates a “job description” for their candidate from this process [24]. The community looks for someone who shows the values and ideas in their report instead of just waiting for someone to say they want to be nominated (Rissi 2024). This is a change from the normal way of choosing candidates. Instead of starting from the top, they are starting from the bottom. Sometimes, community groups talk to well-known local people, like professionals, business owners, or activists who help the community. They ask these people to be the community's independent candidate. Candidate recruitment is careful and based on merit. Potential candidates are checked to see how well they match the issues that the community cares about, like climate action, integrity, and healthcare. They also need to show that they will be responsible to local voters instead of just following a party's rules.
For example, Zoe Daniel used to be a journalist, and in 2022, she ran as an independent candidate for Goldstein [25]. A local group in that area held listening sessions and found that they wanted a candidate who has good communication skills, honesty, and a strong dedication to climate action. They went to Daniel, who matched what they were looking for and was already a trusted local person, persuading her to take on the role. Similar situations happened in other places: in Kooyong, a community group chose Dr. Monique Ryan, a well-known pediatric neurologist, to run against the Treasurer then; in North Sydney, local supporters for climate and gender equality brought in business leader Kylea Tink [26]. These new members often did not have any previous experience in politics, which many thought was good – they were not tied to any political parties and were closely connected to the community.
When a candidate says yes to running, the community comes together to give full support. This way, the independent candidate becomes more than just a political figure; they become a real representative of the community. When the official election campaign starts, many volunteers usually get involved. They help with choosing candidates, finding important issues, and planning the campaign. This process of choosing candidates together helps build trust and excitement for the elections. Supporters feel they have a personal interest in the candidate doing well [27]. This bottom-up way is very different from the usual party politics. In traditional politics, candidates, especially in safe areas, are often placed there by party leaders without much local involvement [28]. CIM picks candidates by getting involved with the community. This way, independents have strong connections to local people and gain their support, which helps them be more responsible and listen to the voters [29].
The movement really values getting a lot of different volunteers, not just focusing on the candidates themselves. Campaign teams are happy to welcome supporters of all ages and backgrounds. They teach them how to help with tasks like knocking on doors, making phone calls, and doing research on policies. Lots of volunteers are new to politics. A volunteer said, “It’s about making Parliament better by working hard.” “Being part of the solution spreads easily” [30]. This friendly and open way has helped the movement reach many different people and keep a strong level of community involvement during the candidate selection and campaigning process.
Methods and Tools Used
The community independents use different new ways and tools to organize and campaign. They focus on getting people involved and being open about what they do. A basic way to start is by using Kitchen Table Conversations (KTCs) to set the agenda. The KTC model was first created by community groups in the 1990s. It has become an important part of the movement's approach to getting people involved from the ground up [31]. By having many small group talks, community campaigns make sure their platform really shows what local people think. The result is usually a clear report about what the community wants. This helps the candidate decide what promises to make during their campaign and what to do when they are in office [32].
The CIM uses many volunteers and meets people in person to help with campaign operations. Each community campaign is structured to maximize volunteer involvement, often dividing tasks among teams for doorknocking, phone outreach, events, and social media. Many people are getting involved in volunteering for politics in Australia like never before. For instance, during the 2022 election, Monique Ryan, an independent candidate in Kooyong, had more than 1,500 volunteers. This is a huge number, much more than the local major party branches have in active members [33]. This local support provides independents with a strong presence on the ground. People who help go door to door in neighbourhoods, hold community meetings, and work in campaign offices. This makes things feel more personal, which big political parties sometimes do not have. Dr. Zareh Ghazarian notes that people still really like independent candidates. The big parties are having a hard time finding enough people, but local campaigns are full of volunteers [34]. The way this movement works helps regular people get involved in campaigning. It makes them organizers, which saves money and strengthens the community feeling of the project.
Digital tools and professional methods to help organize the efforts of volunteers in a smart way. Lots of community campaigns use new voter contact software and database systems, like Nation Builder, which helps them work together better. The Nation Builder team explains that community groups use relational organizing technology to keep track of supporter lists, plan events, and send specific messages [35]. They use social media well, making Facebook groups and local networks to keep volunteers updated and find more supporters. Relational organizing is when volunteers talk to their friends and networks. This is very important and matches the spirit of the community. These tech tools help a small independent campaign manage many contacts and donors. They make it possible to have a system like a big party operation, but in a smaller and more local way.
Another useful tool is crowdfunding and raising money from small donors. Climate 200 gives big grants, but it also gets a lot of money from regular voters through fundraising efforts. For example, in the 2022 campaigns and after, independent candidates often see increases in small donations at important times [36]. This gives important money for advertising and materials, and it also shows that the community supports the campaign. In 2023, new laws about electoral funding made it hard for independent candidates by limiting how much they could spend. The public reacted by donating a lot of money, seeing fundraising to support the movement and protest these laws [37]. So, crowdfunding is now a way to get help and a sign of how much support there is.
To sum up, the movement uses different tools to help people and make their voices heard, from small meetings at kitchen tables to advanced voter databases. Methods like KTCs and clear decision-making are meant to show the kind of democracy that the movement hopes for. This set of tools for getting the community involved, organizing volunteers, and running fair campaigns has helped local independents do well against big parties, even though they have fewer resources on paper. Movement organizers say that something that used to take five years to do, like building a strong independent campaign, can now be done in just five months. This is because of the resources and tools that people can share [38].
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The way the Community Independents Movement worked is very different from regular election campaigns. In CIM campaigns, candidates, volunteers, and voters worked together a lot and talked about things in a thoughtful way. During the campaign time, community candidates had many open meetings, question and answer sessions, and street stalls to talk directly with voters. The same community group members often helped with these events. They also helped choose the candidate. This made it hard to see the difference between the campaigners and the people they represent. In a way, the people are the campaign. This made the campaign feel very interesting and fun. Volunteers felt “heard” by their own campaign, which was different from feeling like just a small part of a big party system [39].
The campaign featured a solid base of teamwork between independent candidates in different local areas of the country. Each community campaign would work independently but candidates would share their experiences and sometimes come together for press conferences on common themes. They would advocate at different times such as call for a federal integrity commission or improved climate change target [40]. All the community independents supported the establishment of a federal anti-corruption commission during campaign in 2022, a clear signal of the desire for cleaner politics [41]. Despite an overarching notion of teamwork within community candidates, each campaign retained its own unique local flair. In rural communities, the conversation would often center on issues such as water security and telecommunications; in urban centres the issues raised primarily revolved around the cost-of-living and urban planning. This example illustrates the conversation of the community in each of those areas [42].
This important idea of participation kept going even after winning elections. After being elected, CIM candidates focused on getting their communities involved in how things are run. Independent MPs brought in staff to focus on community engagement. This helped make sure that the voices of the people they represent were important in making policy decisions [43]. Public meetings and groups for citizens became normal practice. For example, MP Kylea Tink in North Sydney had town hall meetings every three months. She talked about her work in parliament and listened to feedback from people. This shows that being a representative is about ongoing conversation, not just something that happens on election day [44]. This is different from the usual way of representation, where MPs might only connect with people during certain times, like helping with specific issues or during election campaigns.
From the viewpoint of the people involved, this way of doing politics was very empowering. People who started as volunteers and became political activists often talked about how their view of democracy changed. They stopped seeing politics as something that just happened to them. Instead, they started to take part in making political decisions. A campaign volunteer in Canberra said that working on an independent campaign made her feel “hope that politics can be done differently” [45]. Many independent MPs say their success comes from being involved with their communities. This helps them stay accountable to the people instead of just following party rules [46]. The close connection between elected independents and their supporters is still a big part of the movement.
Influence, Outcome, and Effects
The Community Independents Movement (CIM) has changed Australia's political setting a lot. In the 2022 federal election, independents supported by the community won against well-known incumbents in places like Kooyong, Wentworth, and North Sydney. This ended almost ten years of Liberal-National control and made the crossbench bigger than it has been in recent times [47]. The change made the Labour government work more closely with independent MPs, especially on important reforms like creating a federal anti-corruption commission and changing the Climate Change Act [48]. The movement has also pushed big parties to change. After losing elections, they started choosing candidates who are more involved in the community and focused more on important issues like climate and honesty, which are key to the independents' ideas. One strategist said that independents are making parties “offer more credible policies” [49].
In late 2023, both big parties made changes to the election rules. They set limits on how much money a person can spend on campaigns. Some independent groups said these changes were meant to make it harder for them to compete. Senator David Pocock said the changes are a “stitch-up deal” to “lock out community independents” [50]. Many people were upset, and there was a lot of support for independent candidates. Some said the changes could hurt fair competition in democracy [51]. The movement has made people more interested in getting involved in their communities. By early 2025, more than 30 community groups were getting ready for campaigns all over Australia, even in areas that were thought to be hard to win [52]. These local efforts helped more people get involved in politics and showed that communities can influence national politics starting from the ground level.
Even with difficulties in sustainability and working together, the CIM has made important changes to democratic practices focusing on being open, consulting people, and listening to the community. Zoe Daniel said that the goal is to make politics “less about winning points and more about solving problems” [53]. It doesn't matter if independents grow their influence in 2025. The movement has already made a good alternative way for people to engage in democracy and representation.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
The Community Independents Movement (CIM) illustrates how ordinary individuals, through a commitment to participating in elections for local government agencies, can influence the transformation of dated systems of political representation. CIM distinguishes itself from other democratic ideologies in that it acts, albeit indirectly, in elections. CIM advocates for a candidate who is a community choice, thereby challenging the information monopoly of political parties. This presents a fresh approach for citizens to lead democratic change [54]. Another considerable factor for the effectiveness of the movement revolves around trust and whether the networks involved can engender trust by implicating people. Candidates gain trust through being local based, which changes people's perceptions of their political motivations. The process of collaborating and leading community-elected candidates builds not only trust, but excitement for voters [55]. CIM is effective not only because it engages contemporary notions of democracy. It is also well organized and well-funded. The movement received assistance from Climate 200 and utilized exceptional volunteers, allowing campaigns to access the tools and capacity to engage with people. Analyst Tony Barry has even stated that CIM candidates benefitted from “significant money and significant personnel,” which meant that candidate's response to issues surrounding candidates funding had kin relevance to independents in previous elections [56].
CIM shows that when people have the right tools, support, and a way to express themselves, they will get involved in democracy in a real way. Belgiorno-Nettis (2023) noted that the movement showed a clear message: Australians “want to be active in politics, not passive.” The CIM model shows that participatory democracy and winning elections can go together. It gives us hope for a stronger democracy that is based on empowering communities.
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