About EFA – Electronic Frontiers Australia

Founded in 1994, Electronic Frontiers Australia, Inc. (EFA) is a not-for-profit national organisation that works to ensure that technology makes our lives better, not worse.

We promote the idea that digital rights are human rights.

EFA was formally incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act (S.A.) in May 1994.

EFA is independent of government and commerce and is funded by membership subscriptions and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic interest in promoting online civil liberties. EFA members and supporters come from all parts of Australia and from diverse backgrounds. They are people who recognise that preserving freedoms and rights always depends on the willingness of people to defend them and that combatting the threats posed by the anti-civil libertarian forces and ill-informed reports in the media requires constant vigilance and support.

EFA is completely independent from the USA’s Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). EFA is not (and never has been) a subsidiary or affiliate of the EFF, although the two separate organisations share a number of goals and have an excellent working relationship. EFA is focused on issues directly affecting Australians, while EFF has an American and also a broad international focus. EFF’s role in the establishment of EFA was solely that of an advisory ally.

Join EFA

EFA is funded by membership subscriptions and donations.

If you support our work, please JOIN or DONATE now.

What We Do

Objects and Purposes

Our Objects and Purposes define what EFA if for. They are defined in Rule 3 of our Rules of Incorporation, are as follows:

To protect and promote the civil liberties of users of computer based communications systems and of those affected by their use.
To advocate the amendment of laws and regulations in Australia and elsewhere which restrict free speech and unfettered access to information.
To educate the community at large about the social, political, and civil liberties issues involved in the use of computer based communications systems.
To support, encourage and advise on the development and use of computer based communication systems, and related innovations.
To research and advise on the application of the law (both current and proposed) to computer based communication systems and related technologies.

Board & Staff

EFA policy formulation, decision making and oversight of organisational activities are the responsibility of EFA’s Board of Management.

Elected Board Members act in a voluntary capacity and are not remunerated for time spent on EFA projects. Board Members are subject to compliance with a Board Code of Conduct [PDF] approved by the members-at-large which ensures, in addition to the provisions of the Associations Incorporations Act (S.A.), that in the event of any Board Member having a conflict of interest in relation to any matter under consideration by the EFA Board, they are not entitled to vote in relation to that matter.

EFA funding is provided by membership subscriptions and donations from individuals and organisations with an altruistic interest in promoting online civil liberties. As the management committee of an incorporated association, the Board is required to act in the best interests of the members as a whole in accord with the objectives of the association. The Board therefore does not accept donations from sectional interests wishing to influence EFA policy or activities. Since EFA was formed in 1994, the Board has only accepted donations on the basis that the donation does not entitle the donor to vote or exert influence in relation to EFA policy formulation, or any other aspect of the Board’s decision-making or organisational activities.

Current Board Members

Justin Warren, Chair
Kathryn Gledhill-Tucker, Vice-Chair
Fahad Ali, Secretary
Paul Ruberry, Treasurer
Amy Patterson
Matt Watt
John Pane
Kiki Fong Lim
Matthew Malone

Audit Committee

The Board has established an Audit Committee to oversee the organisation’s governance and regulatory compliance processes, including audits, financial management and risk management.
See the Audit Committee’s Terms of Reference.

Justin Warren – Audit Committee Chair

Staff

EFA has no permanent staff. Operations are managed by the board with the assistance of the occasional contractor and a volunteer team.

Meetings

Board Meetings

Minutes of recent Board Meetings are available on our:
Board Meeting Minutes page.

General Meetings

Annual Reports

The EFA Board’s Annual Reports, as presented to each Annual General Meeting are available on our:
Annual Reports page.

Teams

EFA’s teams are the core of the organisation and carry responsibility for various functions. All teams are open to applications from members with a relevant interest and/or expertise. For more information, please click on one of the Team pages:

Policy Team | Systems Team

Supporters

The following organisations are financial or in-kind supporters of EFA and its campaigns.

Fastmail

Serversaurus

Electron Workshop

If you’re interested in becoming a Supporting Organisation, please contact us.