85 organisations call on Albanese Government protect community voices by introducing "anti-SLAPP" laws

The Albanese Government is being urged to introduce new laws which would stop powerful corporations misusing Australia’s legal system to silence and intimidate community voices, by a coalition of 85 environmental, faith, community legal and human rights organisations.

The call comes as a new report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers highlighted the global uptake of powerful corporations weaponising justice systems to suppress community voices through Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suits. The report calls on governments to introduce laws to protect people and organisations from SLAPP suits.

The Human Rights Law Centre, Australian Conservation Foundation, Australian Democracy Network, and Uniting Church Victoria and Tasmania are among the 85 organisations that have written to the Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus. The open letter, also published as a full page spread in the Australian Financial Review, calls for anti-SLAPP laws to ensure that people can speak out on matters of public interest without the threat of costly legal action. 

In recent months, multi-billion dollar fossil fuel company Santos has pursued litigation against the Environmental Defenders Office and several other civil society organisations. The case has provoked concern from legal and human rights experts that litigation may limit community voices on issues of public interest and freedom of expression.

Adam Beeson, General Counsel at the Australian Conservation Foundation, said: 

“The legal system is a dispute resolution mechanism. It should not be weaponized by big corporations against those that seek to hold them to account. Santos’ business is causing harm to our climate, iconic landscapes and precious species, and its action in court is damaging our democracy. The Australian Conservation Foundation strongly supports law reform to enable Courts to intervene when the justice system is being weaponised.”

David Mejia-Canales, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said: 

“SLAPPs are an abuse of the legal system. People who speak up in the public interest to defend democracy and protect communities should be protected from being dragged through expensive and exhausting legal processes by powerful corporations. The Attorney-General must act to protect community voices and strengthen Australia’s democracy by introducing anti-SLAPP laws.” 

Anastasia Radievska, Protest Rights Campaigner at the Australian Democracy Network, said:

"In a healthy democracy, communities are able to speak up for the things they care about without fear of retribution from corporate lawsuits. Australia is lagging behind other countries in protecting our legal system from misuse by corporate actors that want to stifle dissent - we need strong anti-SLAPP legislation now."

Mark Zirnsak, Senior Social Justice Advocate at Uniting Church Victoria and Tasmania, said:

“The law should not be available to powerful corporations to stifle legitimate criticism of their activities. The public interest is not served when the law allows corporations to be unaccountable to community standards and expectations.”

Read the open letter to the Attorney-General signed by 85 civil society organisations.

Background 

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are a tactic used by companies and wealthy individuals to weaponise the courts against those who stand up or speak out for the public interest. These lawsuits are not about justice—they are designed to intimidate, silence dissent, and suppress public debate.  

In Australia, this issue is not new. December marks the 20th anniversary of the Gunns20 case, where 20 environmental activists and organisations were sued by a Tasmanian logging company for campaigning against old growth logging. Although the case was ultimately unsuccessful, it had a chilling effect on peaceful protest and illustrated how SLAPP suits can be used to stifle advocacy and activism. 

The term SLAPPs covers a wide range of cases, including companies suing communities and unions for their activism, defamation cases against journalists to prevent articles being published, and the use of punitive adverse costs to discourage public interest litigation. SLAPPs don’t just silence individuals — they damage democracy by eroding public trust in our legal system. When the courts are used to protect the interests of powerful corporations or wealthy individuals over the rights of individuals, we risk losing the ability to hold those in power to account.

Media Contact: 
Chandi Bates
Media and Communications Manager
Human Rights Law Centre
0430 277 254
chandi.bates@hrlc.org.au