What Australian Conservation Foundation does

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organization, founded in 1966 and headquartered in Carlton, Victoria. ACF operates as a nonprofit advocacy body funded primarily by individual donations and memberships, mobilizing a base of more than 583,000 supporters and 1,600+ volunteer investigators across Australia and 21 countries. The organization's core programmatic products include ACF Investigates (a citizen science platform where volunteers analyze satellite imagery to detect deforestation on smartphones or computers via a Discord-integrated community), Wild at Art (a children's wildlife art competition), Australia's Biggest Bushwalk (annual community event), and Habitat Magazine (periodical publication). ACF supplements these with the ACF Community Hub digital platform connecting local community groups.

ACF's go-to-market is community-led: it engages supporters through petitions, email campaigns, events, social media, and volunteer mobilization to influence environmental policy and corporate behavior. Revenue is generated through small-dollar donations (tax-deductible from AUD $2), recurring monthly gifts via the EarthVoice donor community, annual memberships, workplace giving, and bequests. The organization employs 51-100 staff, governed by a board led by President Ros Harvey, with Adam Bandt listed as CEO. ACF's strategic focus spans climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, fossil fuel phase-out, corporate accountability, and nature law reform.

ACF pursues influence through a combination of grassroots mobilization, commissioned scientific research, legal challenges (notably Federal Court actions against Woodside's North West Shelf and Browse gas projects), and policy advocacy. It has secured tangible outcomes including reconsideration of the Browse gas project, influence over the 2022 Climate Change Bill's 43% emissions reduction target, and 2025 EPBC Act reforms tightening agricultural land-clearing loopholes. The organization partners with peer NGOs including BirdLife Australia, Invasive Species Council, Environmental Justice Australia, and Greenpeace Australia Pacific on coordinated advocacy campaigns.

Name

Australian Conservation Foundation

Legal name

Australian Conservation Foundation Incorporated

Website

https://acf.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Australian Conservation Foundation is Australia's national environmental nonprofit, founded in 1966, mobilizing 583,000+ supporters and 1,600+ volunteer investigators through donations and memberships to advocate for climate action, nature protection, and corporate accountability.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Advocacy Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

Keywords

• Environmental advocacy
• Nature conservation
• Citizen science
• Climate campaigning
• Policy reform

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoria Park

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: ACF accepts one-time and recurring donations from individuals. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible in Australia. The organization emphasizes being funded by tens of thousands of Australians for independent campaigning.
2. Membership: Annual membership program with ongoing or one-year options. Members receive occasional VIP emails, AGM invitations, and their names are listed on the ACF register of members. Members must support ACF's objectives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environment organisation. It mobilises more than 600,000 supporters to advocate for stronger environmental laws, conduct citizen-science investigations of deforestation via its ACF Investigates satellite-imagery platform, run public campaigns against fossil fuel and deforestation projects, and pursue legal challenges against government and corporate environmental decisions. Revenue is generated through donations, memberships, and event/brand sponsorships, with the organisation funded independently by tens of thousands of Australians.

Product overview

The Australian Conservation Foundation operates as a nonprofit environmental organization with multiple advocacy programs and campaigns rather than a commercial technology product. Its core offerings include ACF Investigates (a citizen science platform for satellite-based deforestation monitoring), Wild at Art (a children's wildlife art competition), Australia's Biggest Bushwalk (community event), Habitat Magazine (periodical publication), and various campaign initiatives focused on climate action, nature protection, corporate accountability, and democracy. These programs work together to mobilize supporters, conduct environmental investigations, and advocate for policy change on issues including coal and gas phase-out, deforestation, and nature law reforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACF Investigates: Citizen science project that brings together nature-loving digital sleuths who help uncover deforestation by classifying satellite imagery.
• Wild at Art
• Habitat magazine
• Australia's Biggest Bushwalk

Products and services

• ACF Investigates A citizen science initiative that enables volunteer investigators to analyse satellite imagery using smartphones or computers to identify and document deforestation cases across Australia, with consensus-based verification and an integrated Discord community.
• Wild at Art

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000 signatures petition goal
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Paddy PallincoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Outdoor gear retailer Paddy Pallin is a major partner for Australia's Biggest Bushwalk, generously donating prizes, providing financial support, and participating in the event. The partnership aligns Paddy Pallin's history of environmental preservation with ACF's nature protection mission.
• BirdLife AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACF joined with BirdLife Australia and the Invasive Species Council to urge rapid implementation of conservation programs for H5N1 bird flu preparedness.
• Invasive Species CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACF partnered with Invasive Species Council and BirdLife Australia to call for government action on H5N1 bird flu outbreak affecting Australian wildlife.
• Environmental Justice AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACF and Environmental Justice Australia secured a historic legal intervention requiring the Australian Minister to reconsider Woodside's Browse offshore gas project, citing evidence linking emissions to coral deaths on the Great Barrier Reef.
• Greenpeace Australia PacificminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreenpeace Australia Pacific has called on Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to reject the Browse project, citing environmental risks. Both organizations oppose the project.
• ACF Community GroupscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of ACF Community Groups across Australia that support local environmental action and campaign participation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Greenpeace Australia Pacific: Australia's largest environmental activist organization, similarly funded by individual donors, with overlapping campaigns on fossil fuels, deforestation, and climate policy. The two organizations openly co-campaign on issues like the Browse gas project, making them the closest direct competitive peer to ACF.
• WWF-Australia: Major Australian conservation NGO with comparable donor-supported structure, broad species and habitat focus, and policy advocacy remit across federal and state governments. WWF-Australia competes with ACF for conservation dollars, corporate partnerships, and policy influence in Australia.
• The Wilderness Society (Australia): Australian conservation NGO focused on protecting wilderness areas, running grassroots campaigns, and engaging in policy advocacy - the same operating model and donor base as ACF. Highly comparable in size, mission, and community organizing approach.
• Environmental Justice Australia: Australia's leading public interest environmental law firm, which has co-litigated with ACF on the historic Browse gas project intervention. Operates on a very similar grant/donation-funded model and shares the same litigation-first strategic playbook.
• BirdLife Australia: Australia's largest bird conservation organization, partner of ACF on H5N1 wildlife preparedness and adjacent on habitat policy. Competes for similar donor dollars and overlapping conservation-policy influence.
• Friends of the Earth (Australia): Activist environmental nonprofit operating on a federation model with grassroots campaigns across climate, biodiversity, and corporate accountability - the same advocacy archetype as ACF, with overlapping donors and issue priorities in Australia.

Regional players

• Environmental Defence Society Australia: Environmental advocacy organization focused on legal action, policy submissions, and litigation in environmental law - a near-identical operating playbook to ACF's, but operating primarily in New Zealand rather than Australia.

Broad incumbents

• 350.org: Global climate-focused advocacy nonprofit running large-scale grassroots climate campaigns internationally. Comparable in community-led GTM, donor support model, and federal policy advocacy mission, though broader in geographic scope and narrower in climate-only framing.
• The Nature Conservancy (Australia): Global conservation organization with an Australia chapter, working on policy, science, and on-the-ground conservation. Operates in a similar mission space to ACF but with a more science- and land-management-focused orientation and less direct grassroots campaigning.

Emerging players

• Invasive Species Council: Australian nonprofit focused on invasive species and biodiversity policy, which has co-partnered with ACF on H5N1 wildlife preparedness. Smaller scale than ACF, with a narrower mission, but competes directly for biodiversity-policy funding and influence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AusConservation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/AusConservationTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/AustralianConservationFoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/ausconservation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australian-conservation-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Australian Conservation Foundation