Do online petitions work? Change.org vs real letters

Australians deserve to be heard. So we sign the petition, share the post and send the email. Then, year after year, many of the same issues sit unresolved. If you've ever wondered whether that click did anything, this guide is an honest look at what online petitions can and can't do, and why a real letter is still one of the most effective ways to reach the person who can act.

The short answer

Online petitions are good at showing numbers and getting attention. They're weaker at the thing that changes a politician's mind: proof that their own constituents care enough to take a real step. A petition signature takes a few seconds and says little about who you are. A signed letter from a local voter, posted to their electorate office, is personal, it's hard to filter out, and it asks for a reply.

How a Change.org petition reaches Parliament (and when it doesn't)

Change.org is a private platform. Signing a petition there doesn't send anything to Parliament by itself. As Change.org explains in its own guide to petitions in Australia, a Change.org petition must be supported and presented by an MP, and it's tabled as a “non-conforming” petition. That means it may not get the same formal parliamentary response as an official petition.

In practice, many online petitions are simply delivered by email or handed over at a media event. Whether anyone replies is up to the recipient.

Official parliamentary e-petitions

The federal House of Representatives runs its own e-petition system. E-petitions are addressed to the House, collect signatures for four weeks, and are checked by the Standing Committee on Petitions. If the committee refers a petition to the relevant minister, the minister is expected to provide a written response within 90 days, which is tabled in the House. Most state parliaments run similar systems.

That's a real, formal process, and worth using. The trade-offs: the wording must follow strict rules, a petition can only ask the House to act, and one collective response comes back for everyone who signed.

Petition vs email vs letter: how they compare

Why real letters still matter

• Effort signals intent. Politicians and their staff know a click costs nothing. A letter with your name, address and signature shows you're a real person who took the time to write.
• It lands with the right person. Instead of one list sent to one inbox, each letter goes to a specific MP, senator or minister, and with Better Letters it goes to your own local member, found from your postcode.
• It can't be spam-filtered. A letter arrives in the office mail, gets opened, and is typically logged like any other correspondence.
• It asks for a reply. A letter with a return address and a clear question is correspondence that expects an answer.
• It adds up. When dozens of letters on the same issue arrive at one electorate office, the pattern gets noticed.

Imagine what a million letters could do

A standard DL envelope is 22 centimetres long. Laid end to end, a million letters would stretch 220 kilometres. That's enough to circle Parliament House in Canberra, a 300 by 300 metre building, more than 180 times. One letter is a voice. Enough of them become impossible to walk past.

How Better Letters turns your message into a real letter

1. Find who to write to. Enter your postcode to find your federal and state members and senators. Or search all 846 sitting politicians and ministers in every Australian parliament.
2. Write it once. Start from a campaign letter or write your own. Every copy is personalised with each politician's name and role.
3. Sign it. Type your signature in a script font, draw it, or upload a photo of it.
4. We print and post it for $3.95 a letter ($3.45 each when you send 4 or more on a campaign), or you download the PDF free and post it yourself.

Your letter and address are encrypted, used once to print and post your letter, and deleted 24 hours after posting. No account needed.

Already signed a petition? Follow it up with a letter

If you've signed a petition on an issue you care about, a short personal letter to your local member makes it count twice.

For organisers: run a letter campaign instead of (or alongside) a petition

If you run a petition, you already have supporters who care. A letter-writing campaign turns them into letters on MPs' desks. Each supporter is routed to their own local member, and you see how many letters each politician has received. Read our guide to running a letter writing campaign, or start a campaign now.