Advocate
Our advocacy is designed to break down barriers, connect the dots and drive lasting change.
In 2025, Minderoo’s Thrive by Five campaign continued its push to make early childhood development in Australia more accessible and affordable, engaging lawmakers in Canberra while driving engagement at the grassroots level across the nation.
Minderoo’s advocacy also tackled global issues like climate change and ocean conservation, engaging with world leaders at international events including the United Nations Ocean Conference in France, COP30 in Brazil and the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
We do this because decisions made overseas don’t stay there. They ripple across Australia and the Asia-Pacific, shaping how we respond to global challenges like climate change, regulating new technologies, supporting humanitarian efforts and protecting our oceans.
Across this work, our role is clear: elevate partners, bring evidence and focus attention where it can shift outcomes.
Snapshot: our impact by numbers
>400
Global Plastics Treaty delegates connected to 30+ Minderoo sponsored experts on plastics and human health
75
countries ratified the High Seas Treaty as part of a global push joined by Minderoo
10
partnerships worth $8M to deliver a climate change campaign in Australia
1000+
government, corporate, advocacy and research stakeholders briefed on the Australian Gender Compass, supported by Minderoo
Indian Ocean Forum 2025 (IOF25)
In April, Minderoo and the Government of France co-hosted the Indian Ocean Forum to gather perspectives and build momentum across the region before the third United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3) in Nice in June.
At UNOC3, Minderoo strongly advocated for the landmark High Seas Treaty, which will protect some of our richest and most vulnerable ecosystems.
Minderoo’s advocacy for the treaty was shaped by engagement at IOF25, where scientists and political and community leaders called for action to protect biodiversity, combat illegal fishing, accelerate the energy transition, and adopt Real Zero.
Building on the momentum of IOF25 and UNOC3, Dr Andrew Forrest AO joined French President Emmanuel Macron at the United Nations General Assembly in New York where the High Seas Treaty reached its 60th ratification, triggering the treaty to come into force - a defining moment for ocean conservation.
Dr Forrest also announced two new grants worth more than US$2.8 million (A$4.25 million) to accelerate the swift and science-based implementation of the landmark agreement:
- A collaboration with the US-based Marine Conservation Institute (MCI) to strengthen global science-based standards for marine protection in the high seas
- Support for the High Seas Alliance to help countries implement the treaty through the provision of policy, legal and technical expertise.
We’ve committed an extra A$25 million to ocean protection
Our total ocean investment now stands at A$170 million.
The additional funding will help:
- Strengthen marine protected areas
- Defend the high seas
- Advance eDNA research with UNESCO
- Enhance real-time vessel tracking
Caption: Holly Buschman, Executive Director Natural Ecosystems at Minderoo Foundation and Vidar Helgesen, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, and Assistant Director-General of UNESCO Conference sign the eDNA Expeditions agreement at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice.
Five years of Thrive by Five
In August, Minderoo Foundation celebrated five years of the Thrive by Five campaign, aimed at securing a high-quality, accessible and affordable early learning system in Australia.
Thrive by Five has the support of more than 60 partner organisations across Australia.
Its ongoing advocacy has secured several high-profile changes, including:
- Guaranteeing a minimum of three days per week of subsidised early education and care
- A 15 per cent wage increase for the early childhood workforce
- The establishment of the $1 billion Building Early Education Fund to develop childcare centres, including in the regions and outer suburbs
The celebrations were also used as a springboard to launch the Cost of Late Intervention report at an event attended by Nicola Forrest AO at Parliament House in Canberra.
The report by The Front Project details the cost of not acting early enough on issues like child protection, youth justice and unemployment support.
Credit: Emma Dolzadelli.
Other stories of impact
Lasting change takes time, resources and the attention of decision-makers. Discover more stories of how we advocate for change.
Partner
We support partners using the full spectrum of funding solutions, from grants to impact investing, to create, accelerate and scale measurable impact.
Develop
We collaborate with partners, communities and beneficiaries to develop, test, refine and de-risk solutions, sharing learnings to help others scale-up and adapt to local contexts.
Generate evidence
We generate, connect and leverage evidence to drive change, fuel advocacy, guide decisions and amplify our collective impact.