The Policy Platform is an Australian software platform that helps charities, not-for-profits and for-purpose organisations engage with government policy processes.
Most organisations in the sector have no dedicated government relations staff, yet are expected to influence the policy decisions that fund and regulate them. The Policy Platform packages the capabilities that would normally require a specialist team: policy monitoring, decision-maker mapping, submission and media drafting, and relationship management.
The platform monitors parliamentary and media activity across all nine Australian jurisdictions and fifteen parliamentary chambers, including the state and territory parliaments where most social policy is decided. Coverage includes inquiries opening, consultations closing, ministerial announcements and committee activity, filtered to each organisation's topics and location.
Users identify which level of government holds their issue and which ministers, committee members and local representatives are responsible. They draft submissions, media releases and advocacy strategies, and maintain a shared record of contacts and campaigns that survives staff turnover.
Where a source cannot be retrieved, the platform reports that explicitly rather than returning an empty result.
Plans range from a free tier requiring no credit card to a partner tier for peak bodies and larger service providers. Concessional pricing applies to small registered charities, and organisations registered with the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations receive free access.
Founded in Brisbane by Anita O'Halloran and Teleiah Bayfield, who met working in government delivering policy and programs. The Policy Platform operates as a social enterprise under Mary Street Group Pty Ltd.
