FORE Good

The last slide is my favourite ❤️ If you’d told me back in June 2024 that this little policy training experiment would become one of the biggest things we do at FORE Australia, I genuinely wouldn’t have believed you. What’s surprised me most hasn’t just been the scale, it’s been the people! Every cohort reminds me there are so many more policy nerds out there than I ever realised (which is… deeply comforting). The curiosity. The questions. How quickly skills grow when you give motivated people real tools, a community that cares, and the chance to practise with support. What’s also blown me away is how many people choose to stay. They finish the program and then come back as mentors, advisors, team leads — paying it forward and helping shape the next cohort. The fact that this entire program has been built, grown, and sustained by volunteers genuinely boggles my mind (and I know it boggles plenty of others too). Somewhere along the way, this stopped being “just” training. It became a way to help expert policy ideas reach decision-makers and to build a community of people who carry these skills — and these values — with them long after the program ends. Seeing where alumni have gone, what they’ve taken from the program, and how they’re using it now genuinely makes the whole thing soooooooooooo worth it! Heading into 2026, I’m incredibly grateful — especially with the support of the Snow Foundation — to be growing this program in a way that’s built to last, and to take it into new jurisdictions. That last slide is my favourite because it’s a reminder of just how many brilliant people have already been part of this journey ❤️ If you’ve ever wondered how people actually learn to do policy — hands-on, real-world — this is one way. Applications for Semester 1 are now open (closing Sunday 11 January 2026). And if you have questions about how this works, how the volunteer model fits together, or what participation actually looks like — our team is excited to answer. Just drop them in the comments.

In 2026, the traditional career ladder is dead. Many of our team at FORE didn’t even start with policy. So, if you’ve never seen yourself in the world of policy, this one’s for you! If you’ve ever looked at your field and thought “why isn’t this reflected in how we make laws?” then policy could be a your next career move. FORE runs 4 policy training fellowship rounds per year. Each one is 3 months of hands-on experience turning your sector knowledge into real policy briefs that reach politicians. If you’re interested check out our website in the bio🔗

Our team went to New South Wales Parliament for the first time today! It was both Soren’s and my first time, which made it even better. We’re doing introductory meetings with offices across the country right now, sharing FORE and our Policy Library of one-page briefs. The feedback has been great from right across the parliament and I’m very happy to say that we’ve seen a real uptick in offices using the briefs since. 💙 Tip for meeting with MPs: always watch an MP’s inaugural speech before you meet them. It’s where they share who they are and what they care about. And as always, a huge thank you to our volunteer team. We are so lucky that you come to learn and contribute with us! At FORE, we believe politics and policy is FORE everyone. 💙 Drop a blue heart if you want to see more behind the scenes content. #AusPol #NSWParliament #FOREAustralia #BehindTheScenes #PolicyForEveryone

We knew we had to invest in this. Women Deliver. If FORE Australia wants to be a bridge between experts, advocates AND decision makers, we have to be in the places where they are. It has been such an honour and privilege getting to meet so many incredible activists, academics and change makers this week. To hear stories and perspectives in panels and workshops and at lunch, from around the world who are delivering for their communities. To those I met. Thank you, I can’t wait to keep in touch. To those I didn’t, I hope we get to meet soon. Because, we exist FORE you💙

💙 Drop a blue heart if you learnt something new. Medicare covers anaesthesia to remove an IUD, but not to put one in. 🤔 Item 35503 of the MBS doesn’t cover local anaesthesia for IUD insertion, leaving people to pay up to $510 out of pocket for pain relief during one of the most painful procedures they’ll go through. And it hits low-income and marginalised groups hardest. At FORE Australia, we believe politics and policy is FORE everyone. 📖 Read the full brief by Helen Tran & Charlotte Greet (published 07/08/2025) at FOREaustralia.com. Because next time someone tells you pain relief isn’t a luxury, you’ll know Medicare already agrees… just not for insertion. #WomensHealth #ReproductiveRights #IUD #Medicare #auspol

What would you tell NSW Parliament? 🚨 After just over a year in Melbourne, I’m so excited to share that I’ll be moving to Sydney in mid-May (18 days away!!!) to help FORE take our next step - launching in NSW Parliament by mid-year. And if I’m packing up my life and moving cities… we’re going to make it count. So here’s our offer: You: tell us the issues you care about, which groups or experts we should speak to, or a story you want heard. Drop it in the comments. Us: we’ll turn it into a sharp, one-page brief - published in our Policy Library and take it directly into NSW Parliament, into the hands of decision-makers who can actually do something about it! Pretty good deal right?!?! At FORE, we know how locked off and out of reach these spaces can feel. Too often, the voices shaping decisions are the ones who already had a way in. We want to open that door wider. So we especially want to hear from people who are too often left out. We look FOREward to hearing from you! Drop a comment 👇

We have some new people here! Welcome! Here’s a quick re-introduction 💙 Policy shapes everything. Yet too often, expert-led and community-grounded ideas don’t reach decision-makers in the right format or at the right time - stalling progress. FORE Australia, a youth-led, non-partisan organisation (currently becoming a charity!), bridges this gap. Working with experts, we’re building Australia’s first Policy Library of One-Page Briefs - an online, centralised resource helping policymakers quickly find, evaluate, and act on evidence-based policy solutions. Our youth-led model fuels the Library. Each semester, we train 80-100 volunteers (selected from hundreds of applicants) who join to help build the resource 1-4 days each week. In return, they get critical early career policy experience and an opportunity to publish on topics that are important to them. In under 18 months, we’ve launched in Federal and Victorian parliaments, trained over 350 new policy professionals, and published briefs that have made it onto the floor of parliament - all to help make reform faster and fairer. After all, we can’t act on solutions we don’t know exist. Thanks FORE your support!

Part 2: Thinking about taking your campaign to the media? 👀 Advocating to the general public and pitching an idea directly to an MP are two very different strategies and they can have different effects. In this episode, we break down when to go public, when to go direct, and how to pitch your idea effectively to an MP. Understanding when to use each approach can help you choose the right strategy at the right time. Follow along for more advocacy tips from inside Parliament. Save this video and send it to someone trying to make a difference.

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED We’re hiring a Programs Manager to help lead and grow FORE Australia’s core programs! This is a part-time role (3 days per week) to start, with potential to grow to full-time subject to funding. The role is remote/hybrid within Australia, with Melbourne or Sydney preferred, and office space available in Melbourne CBD. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. You’d be joining a small core team and taking end-to-end responsibility for the management, delivery and growth of FORE’s programs — including our large Volunteer Policy Training Program and Volunteer Parliamentary Liaison Program — helping support hundreds of emerging leaders and strengthen pathways into policy and reform in Australia. If you’re warm, organised, ambitious, great with systems, and excited by the idea of helping build something with real influence on Australian policy and politics, we’d love to hear from you. #hiring

We’re still young, but Progress felt like a real step forward! A little glimpse of what it looks like to step into bigger rooms and bring you (and our new t-shirts!) with us. #progress2026 #socialchange #youngleaders #communitybuilding #change

@foreaustralia have released a policy paper on a subject close to our hearts. Surfacing information from @nomorebuttsorg and research conducted by @doctorsfortheenvironment , FORE highlight that cigarette filters were first marketed in the 1950s as a “safer” alternative to unfiltered cigarettes, but research has since found no health benefit - only environmental harm. Most of cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that can take up to 15 years to break down, releasing thousands of microplastic fibres in the process. It was found that once smoked, filters leach toxic chemicals into waterways and soils, harming wildlife and entering food chains. Studies have also shown “biodegradable” filters are not a viable alternative - taking nearly as long to decompose and still releasing harmful substances. The problem: The NSW EPA estimates that 1.32 billion cigarette butts are littered across the state each year! ⚖️ Solution: Amend the Product Lifecycle Responsibility Act 2025 (NSW) to classify all cigarette filters as regulated products and prohibit their sale and supply. FORE Australia is a youth-led, non-partisan social enterprise working to make public policy reform faster and fairer. Download the policy paper from the link in our bio.

We’ve learned a lot about onboarding over the past 18 months - especially while recruiting what everyone can agree are some pretty huge cohorts! This semester, we onboarded another cohort of future policy leaders, and we wanted to share a few of the lessons that have really shaped how we do it now. Some of them are practical: don’t rely too much on standard process, give people time to actually take information in, and make the scary first steps easier by doing them together. Some of them are bigger: there’s no one “right” background, and connection isn’t a bonus — it’s a huge part of what helps people settle in, participate, and make the most of their time. A lot of this comes back to the fact that FORE is mostly volunteer-run, and our program is only three months long. People are giving their time to be here, and they don’t have long to find their feet. We want as much of that time as possible to go toward learning, drafting, building confidence, and meeting stakeholders — not sitting on the sidelines trying to work out how to start. We’re also sharing this because our Sem 1 cohort has just begun, and we’re so excited for them. 💙 Welcome to Sem 1!! #onboarding #volunteers #communitybuilding #youthleadership #publicpolicy