FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
19 August 2026
An award for advocacy, not health: Governor General’s role in Thorne Harbour donation channelling must be investigated
Family First National Director Lyle Shelton says Thorne Harbour Health's Victorian Pride Award for “advocacy” is the clearest admission yet that this taxpayer-funded Health Promotion Charity is operating well outside the purpose it was registered and funded for. Mr Shelton says the revelation comes on top of prior findings that Thorne Harbour Health was used to channel tax-deductible donations for Equality Australia, whose patrons are Governor General Sam Mostyn and LGBTQA+ drag queen Shane Jenek. Family First is demanding a full investigation into whether the charity has breached its DGR obligations, its broader charity obligations, and whether it should keep receiving government grants at all.
Mr Shelton says a charity cannot claim Health Promotion Charity status — a subtype that exists specifically for institutions whose principal activity is promoting the prevention or control of disease — while publicly accepting an award for advocacy. Winning an industry award specifically for advocacy work is, Mr Shelton says, Thorne Harbour Health admitting in public exactly what Family First has been saying in Parliament: that its real activity has drifted from health promotion into political campaigning, all while collecting $19.5 million a year from government grants.
This is not the first red flag. Family First's submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, lodged on 19 February 2026, raised concerns about “Equality Australia's past use of Thorne Harbour Health to channel tax-deductible donations while its own DGR bid was rejected” — donations for an advocacy body the ACNC, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Full Federal Court all found did not qualify for that status. A LGBTQA+ political activist website soliciting money for Equality Australia tells supporters their gift “will be issued in Thorne Harbour Health name,” months after Equality Australia secured its own dedicated DGR listing in March 2026. Mr Shelton says the pattern is now unmistakable: an organisation using its tax-deductible status to fund advocacy for itself and for others, while being publicly celebrated for exactly that.
“You don't win an award for advocacy by accident — you win it by doing advocacy, and Thorne Harbour Health has just been recognised by its own community for what it's doing,” said Mr Shelton. “That is not what a Health Promotion Charity is registered for, and it's not what taxpayers are funding it for. Between this and the donations it channelled for Equality Australia, there is now a clear pattern, and it needs a proper investigation, not another gala dinner.”
“This isn't just about one award or one donation channel — it's about whether Thorne Harbour Health has been operating in breach of its DGR requirements, its broader charity obligations, and the basic ethical standards that should apply to any organisation handed $19.5 million of public money a year,” said Mr Shelton. “If a charity is acting as a political advocacy outfit while wearing a health promotion badge, the ACNC and the ATO need to establish whether it has broken the rules, and the government needs to explain why it should keep receiving taxpayer funding while that question is unanswered.”
Family First is calling on Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury Andrew Leigh, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and the Australian Taxation Office to conduct a full independent investigation into Thorne Harbour Health — covering whether it has breached its Deductible Gift Recipient obligations by channelling donations for Equality Australia's advocacy activities, whether it has breached its broader charity obligations by operating outside its registered health promotion purpose, and whether it should continue to receive government grants while these questions remain unresolved.
Family First has also made multiple calls for Governor General Sam Mostyn to relinquish her patronage of Equality Australia because the Governor General’s role is a-political.
Mr Shelton says the case is a further reminder of why Family First raised this in the Senate in the first place, and why communities around Australia need a genuinely independent voice in Parliament prepared to ask hard questions about where taxpayer dollars and tax concessions really end up.
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KEY FACTS:
- Thorne Harbour Health was named winner of the “Outstanding Advocacy” category at the Victorian Pride Awards (globevictoria.com.au)
- Thorne Harbour Health's ACNC charity subtypes are Advancing Health, Advancing Social or Public Welfare, and Health Promotion Charity — a status specific to institutions whose principal activity is promoting the prevention or control of disease — effective 20 November 2016; none of its subtypes is advocacy
- Equality Australia was refused registration as a Public Benevolent Institution by the ACNC in December 2020, with the refusal upheld by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in June 2023 and the Full Federal Court in September 2024
- The Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Bill 2025 — which granted Equality Australia its own specific DGR listing, reportedly worth $4.5 million in tax concessions — passed Parliament on 23 March 2026 and received royal assent on 26 March 2026
- Equality Australia's own donor page still states donations made through the organisation are receipted in Thorne Harbour Health's name
- Family First's submission to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, lodged 19 February 2026, raised concerns about “Equality Australia's past use of Thorne Harbour Health to channel tax-deductible donations while its own DGR bid was rejected”
- ACNC Charity Register: Thorne Harbour Health recorded $22,441,387 in total revenue in its latest Annual Information Statement, with 86.96 per cent (about $19.5 million) from government grants and just 1.17 per cent from donations and bequests
- Background: Family First Party, ‘Family First lodges Senate submission opposing special tax break for Equality Australia,’ 19 February 2026
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Lyle Shelton, Family First National Director
Email: [email protected]
Contact details:
