[2] Australia has had a number of independents who have successfully won a seat in parliament, although most of them had the advantage of previously being an MP for a major party[citation needed], or held a high profile position in the community.
[3][4] The first "Voices" group was founded in the electorate of Indi in 2012 around an identified need for greater democratic engagement at the community level.
[7] The organisation established informal forms of participatory democracy by setting up "kitchen table conversations" and using campaign offices as community "hubs" for political discussion.
Zali Steggall defeated the incumbent member of Warringah and ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the 2019 Australian federal election.
One was Voices of Warringah which modelled itself on Indi, the other being Vote Tony Out which targeted Abbott directly, claiming that his views on issues such as climate made him a poor fit to represent the electorate.
[18] In early 2021, Cathy McGowan headed a conference for community minded independents to give them support and encouragement to run for elected office.
[30] Most of the Voices groups are focused on participatory democracy and community engagement, with some eventually endorsing independent candidates.
In 2021 a group in the Melbourne electorate of Goldstein wanted their views better represented with the local member, Tim Wilson, on the issue of climate and government integrity.
[40][41] Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said of the movement "Indi and Warringah are not 'special cases' but templates for further change if the Coalition cannot deliver on climate.
"[42] Turnbull has also called the growth of these groups as a "very very healthy development" that allows people to vote for candidates who align with their views.
"[46] Former Labor MP, Barry Jones and former Democrats leader, Meg Lees joined Hewson on the board of Climate 200, a fund aiming to financially support independent candidates.
[55] In September 2021, Senator Andrew Bragg wrote to the Australian Electoral Commission to ask them to ensure that the groups were fulfilling all the requirements for disclosures for political donations.
[56] In December, the federal parliament passed a law to require “significant third parties” to register if they spend more than $250,000 on electoral expenditure in a year.