Across Australia, a quiet bureaucratic pressure is reshaping the landscape of public dissent — not through outright prohibition, but through the accumulated weight of insurance demands, permit systems, and financial thresholds that few ordinary citizens can meet. A new report from the Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University documents how local councils have become unlikely gatekeepers of a right the constitution implies but does not explicitly protect. What emerges is an old tension in democratic life: the gap between a right that exists in principle and the practical conditions tha
Australian councils weaponize insurance demands to suppress protest rights
It scared me that I would be liable. I had just let the council know as a courtesy.
Mark
So a council demanded $20 million in insurance for a park protest. That seems absurd on its face. Is that actually enforceable?
Mimi
That's the thing—we don't know if it would have held up legally, because Gussoni didn't test it. She was frightened by the demand and moved the protest to a footpath instead. The council's letter said they wouldn't be liable for injury, which shifted all risk onto her.
Luke
Right, but we should be careful here. The report documents incidents where this happened, but we don't have a full accounting of how many councils do this routinely versus how many it's isolated cases. The $20 million figure is striking, but is it typical or an outlier?
Mimi
It does seem extreme. In Queanbeyan, the insurance quote was $5,000 initially, then $330 after waivers. So there's variation. But the pattern the researchers identified is real—councils are using insurance and permits as gatekeeping tools.
Mark
What's the legal basis for councils to demand this?
Mimi
NSW law requires a permit for public gatherings on council land, with a $2,200 fine if you don't get one. But the report argues that should be a notification process, not an authorisation process. And insurance requirements aren't mandated by law—councils are adding those on their own.
Luke
So some councils are going beyond what the law requires. That's important to flag. We know it's happening in at least three places documented here, but we don't have a comprehensive survey of all Australian councils.
Mark
What's the constitutional angle?
Mimi
Australia's constitution implies a right to freedom of political communication. Civil liberties advocates argue that insurance demands and permit systems undermine that right by making protest conditional on money and bureaucratic approval.
Luke
Though I'd note—the constitution doesn't explicitly protect a right to protest. It's an implied right derived from the structure of representative democracy. Courts have recognised it, but it's not as straightforward as, say, the First Amendment in the US.
Mark
So what happens next?
Mimi
The report recommends notification instead of authorisation, and no insurance requirements. The City of Sydney has already affirmed the right to protest on council land. Whether other councils follow is the open question.
Il Polso
- A 61-year-old woman notifies her council of a peaceful park rally and receives a demand for $20 million in public liability insurance — a figure so staggering it drives the protest off council land entirely.
- Researchers have identified a spreading pattern: councils across Australia are using insurance requirements, multi-week permit processes, and thousand-dollar fees to create friction that quietly suppresses civic assembly.
- Civil liberties advocates warn of a contagion effect — as more councils adopt these gatekeeping practices, others normalise them, gradually reframing authorisation as a precondition for protest rather than an exception to it.
- Protest groups are finding workarounds — footpaths, pro bono lawyers, and decisions to proceed without approval — but the burden of navigating these barriers falls disproportionately on ordinary community members with limited resources.
- The report calls for permit systems to be reconceived as notification processes and insurance requirements to be abolished, with the City of Sydney already passing motions affirming the right to protest on council land as a tentative sign of change.
Across Australia, a quiet bureaucratic pressure is reshaping the landscape of public dissent — not through outright prohibition, but through the accumulated weight of insurance demands, permit systems, and financial thresholds that few ordinary citizens can meet. A new report from the Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University documents how local councils have become unlikely gatekeepers of a right the constitution implies but does not explicitly protect. What emerges is an old tension in democratic life: the gap between a right that exists in principle and the practical conditions that determine whether it can be exercised at all.
When Mariella Gussoni emailed Bathurst regional council in July to flag a planned protest against wild horse culling in Kosciuszko national park, she thought she was doing the right thing. The rally was lawful, the notification was a courtesy, and she had no idea how many people might attend. The council's reply was a letter demanding $20 million in public liability insurance. Gussoni, sixty-one, was shaken. Rather than attempt to meet the requirement, she moved the protest to the footpath outside the park — land the council didn't control. Around 120 people joined her. Nothing went wrong.
Her experience, it turns out, is part of a documented pattern. A report released this week by the Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University's Centre for Law as Protection found councils across the country using insurance requirements, permit systems, and financial penalties to restrict public gatherings. In Queanbeyan, organisers of a similar horse-culling protest were quoted $5,000 for insurance before waivers brought the cost down to $330. In Sydney, a community group opposing a proposed datacentre was told by Bayside council it needed insurance, a formal event application, and eight weeks for assessment. They sought legal advice, proceeded without approval, and never heard back.
Researchers describe this as a chilling effect. Co-author Anastasia Radievska noted that as councils adopt these practices, others begin to treat them as standard — gradually normalising authorisation as a prerequisite for protest. Under NSW law, holding a public gathering on council land without a permit already carries a $2,200 fine, and the report found that across most Australian jurisdictions, protest is effectively unprotected without some form of official permission.
Tim Roberts of the Council for Civil Liberties called the insurance and permit demands a blatant contravention of Australia's implied constitutional right to freedom of political communication — likening them to a user-pays model for democratic speech. The report recommends replacing permit systems with simple notification processes and eliminating insurance requirements altogether. The City of Sydney has already passed motions affirming the right to protest on council land. Whether others follow may determine how much of that implied right survives contact with local bureaucracy.
Mariella Gussoni sent a simple email to Bathurst regional council in July. She was planning a protest in a local park against the culling of wild horses in Kosciuszko national park, and she wanted to give the council a heads-up. The rally would be part of a coordinated nationwide day of action. She wasn't certain whether five people or fifty would show up. She included details about speakers and music. It was, by any measure, a straightforward notification from a community member about a lawful gathering.
The council's response arrived by letter. To hold the protest, Bathurst council said, Gussoni would need to secure a $20 million public liability insurance policy. The council would accept no liability for injury or loss. Gussoni, sixty-one years old, was shaken. She had no idea what that kind of coverage would cost or what it would mean for her personally if something went wrong. Rather than navigate the bureaucratic maze, she moved the protest to the footpath outside the park—land the council did not control. She notified police of her intention. The rally went ahead on the footpath with roughly 120 people. No incidents occurred.
"It scared me that I would be liable," Gussoni said later. "I had just let the council know as a courtesy."
Her experience is not isolated. A report released this week by the Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University's Centre for Law as Protection documents a pattern across Australian councils: the use of insurance requirements, permit systems, and financial penalties to restrict public gatherings. In Queanbeyan, organisers planning a protest about the same horse-culling issue—which involved sixteen horses and speeches in a park—were also told they needed insurance. The initial quote was $5,000 to cover the use of horses. After organisers secured participant waivers, the cost dropped to $330. In Sydney, the community group Stop the Cooks River AI Project was told by Bayside council it needed public liability insurance to hold a rally opposing a proposed $2.9 billion datacentre. The council also demanded an event application and said it would need eight weeks to assess it. The group obtained pro bono legal advice, decided to proceed without council approval, and held the rally. They have not heard from the council since.
The report raises alarm about what researchers call a chilling effect. Anastasia Radievska, a protest rights campaigner and co-author of the report, explained that community groups often form around specific local issues. "The more councils do this, the more other councils think that this is the way to interact with protest," she said. Across most Australian jurisdictions, the report found, protest is effectively unlawful or unprotected without permission from police, councils, or place managers. NSW law carries a $2,200 fine for holding a public gathering on council land without a permit—a default requirement under the Local Government Act, though some councils have devised their own policies that diverge from it. This exists alongside the police's Form 1 process, in which protesters can notify police of their intention and gain immunity from charges like obstructing a road.
Tim Roberts, president of the Council for Civil Liberties, called council demands for insurance or permits "unhelpful" and "a reactionary approach." He characterized it as a blatant contravention of the implied right to freedom of political communication in the Australian constitution. He drew a parallel to calls for a user-pays system for policing protests—essentially asking citizens to pay for the privilege of speaking. Roberts agreed that protest organisers should only be required to give notice, not seek authorisation.
The report recommends that existing permit systems be reconceived as notification processes rather than authorisation mechanisms, and that insurance requirements be eliminated entirely. The City of Sydney has already passed motions affirming the right to protest on council land, suggesting at least some local governments recognise the tension between bureaucratic gatekeeping and democratic participation. Whether other councils will follow remains to be seen. For now, the pattern persists: a citizen notifies her council of a lawful gathering, and the council responds with a barrier so high that the citizen must find another way.
Citazioni salienti
The more councils do this, the more other councils think that this is the way to interact with protest.— Anastasia Radievska, Australian Democracy Network protest rights campaigner
It's a blatant contravention of the right to protest.— Tim Roberts, president of the Council for Civil Liberties, on council insurance demands
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Politics & Governance