Most organisations do not have a government problem. They have a translation problem. The facts are on their side, the impact is real, and none of it is reaching the person with authority to act in a form that person can use.
Connect Australia does that translation and manages the engagement around it: who to approach, in what order, with what material, and what to do with the commitments that come out of the meeting.
What this covers
- Stakeholder and decision-maker mapping across portfolios, agencies and levels of government.
- Briefing papers and one-page position summaries built for a reader with four minutes.
- Meeting preparation, including the questions you will be asked and the answers you do not yet have.
- Correspondence with ministerial offices, departments, agencies and local government.
- Evidence-based advocacy on policy, program design and administrative decisions.
- Follow-through: recording commitments, tracking them and returning to them.
How we work
Clarify the objective
The first job is to define what you are actually asking for and who can grant it. A great deal of unproductive engagement happens because an organisation raises an issue without a specific request attached, and the meeting ends with sympathy rather than action.
Present the facts properly
Public servants and ministerial advisers respond to material that is accurate, proportionate and easy to verify. Overstatement is the fastest way to lose a hearing you will not get back. We build the case from what can be evidenced and we say so where the evidence is limited.
Maintain a constructive relationship
Engagement is longer than any single meeting. We keep the correspondence orderly, the commitments recorded and the tone workable, because the same officials will still be there for the next issue.
Where our work stops
Connect Australia does not provide legal, tax or financial advice and is not a law practice, tax agent or financial adviser. We work with your preferred provider or, with prior disclosure, can introduce an independent partner for you to assess and choose. Connect Australia is not a law practice and does not provide legal representation in administrative or court proceedings. Where a matter needs legal representation we coordinate with your lawyer.
Common questions
Is this lobbying?
Advocacy on behalf of a client can fall within lobbying regulation depending on the jurisdiction, who is approached and on whose behalf. Where registration or disclosure obligations apply to an engagement, that is identified and dealt with before the approach is made, not afterwards.
Can you guarantee a meeting or a result?
No. Access is not something any consultant can promise honestly, and decisions belong to the decision-maker. What is within our control is that the request is clear, the material is credible and the follow-through actually happens.
We are a small organisation. Is this worth it?
Often the smaller the organisation, the higher the return, because a single well-prepared submission or meeting represents a much larger share of the total effort you can spend. Start with the fit check and we will tell you if we think it is not worth your money.
Start with a confidential fit check
The first conversation is short and costs nothing. We want to understand the decision you are facing, the deadline attached to it and whether this is work we should be doing at all. You do not need to send documents at that stage.
If the matter is a fit, the next step is usually the $850 initial strategic consultation, which includes up to one hour of pre-reading and a one-hour meeting.