How to run a letter writing campaign that politicians notice

Australians deserve to be heard, and a letter writing campaign is one of the oldest ways to make that happen. When hundreds of people in different electorates each write to their own local member about the same issue, it shows up in every office at once. This guide is for organisers: community groups, charities, unions, P&Cs and anyone with a cause. It covers whether campaigns work, how they compare with petitions, and how to run one step by step.

Do letter writing campaigns work?

Honestly: they can, but not on their own and not every time. There's no reliable public data on how many letters it takes to change a vote, and anyone who gives you a number is guessing. What we do know is how MP offices handle mail.

• Offices count correspondence. Electorate and ministerial staff log what people write about, and a spike on one issue gets noticed and reported to the member.
• Constituents matter most. A letter from someone who lives in the electorate carries more weight than one from outside it. That's why routing each supporter to their own MP matters.
• Personal beats identical. A hundred copies of the same text tend to be logged as one campaign. A hundred letters that each include a real story are harder to wave away.
• Paper stands out. Email is easy to filter and auto-reply. A printed, signed letter has to be opened, read and filed by a person.

Campaigns work best when the ask is specific (vote for this bill, fund this service, meet with us), the timing lines up with a decision, and letters are part of a wider effort with meetings, media and community events.

Letter writing campaign vs petition vs email campaign

Each tool does a different job. Here's how they compare.

Parliamentary e-petitions vs Change.org

The federal House of Representatives runs its own e-petitions system. Petitions that meet the rules are checked by the Petitions Committee, presented to the House and usually referred to the relevant minister, who is asked to respond within 90 days. State parliaments have their own processes and thresholds. In the NSW Legislative Assembly, for example, a petition with 500 or more signatures gets a ministerial response, and larger petitions are debated (see Petitioning the Assembly).

Online petitions on sites like Change.org are easier to share, but they aren't part of the parliamentary process. As Change.org explains, one can only be tabled if an MP agrees to present it as a non-conforming petition, and then it may not require a formal response. Online petitions are easy to ignore on their own.

When a letter campaign beats a petition

• You need individual representatives to act, for example to vote a certain way or raise an issue in their party room.
• Your supporters are spread across many electorates, so you can reach dozens of MPs at once.
• You want personal stories on the record, not just a signature count.
• You want to make sure your message is received by a person, not a spam filter.

Many campaigns run a parliamentary petition and a letter campaign together: the petition gives a formal response, and the letters put pressure on individual members.

How to start a letter writing campaign, step by step

1. Pick the target. Decide who can actually make the change.
2. Write a template supporters can personalise.
3. Route each supporter to their own MP by postcode.
4. Make sending easy.
5. Track letters sent and follow up.

1. Pick the target: local members, a minister, the Senate or a state parliament

If a minister makes the decision, write to the minister and their shadow. If a vote is coming up, write to every supporter's local member, or to the senators for each state when the Senate is the sticking point. For hospitals, schools, transport and policing, the decision usually sits with a state or territory government. If you're not sure, see how to find your local member, and target both levels.

2. Write a template supporters can personalise

Keep it short: one page at most. Put the ask in the first paragraph. Give two or three suggested points with one verifiable fact each. Then leave a clear prompt for a personal story: "Tell your MP, in two or three sentences, how this affects you." That prompt does more for your campaign than any amount of polished copy. Our guide on how to write a letter to your MP covers tone and structure.

3. Route each supporter to their own MP by postcode

Most supporters don't know who their state MP is, and many don't know their federal one. Ask for a postcode and match them to their representatives. Where a postcode spans more than one electorate, let them choose. Letters from constituents are what offices count.

4. Make sending easy: print and post for them, or a free PDF

Every extra step loses people. Asking supporters to print, find an envelope, buy a $0.02 stamp and look up an address means many won't finish. Offer to print and post for them, and give a free PDF for those who'd rather post it themselves.

5. Track letters sent and follow up

Share a running total: it keeps supporters engaged and gives you something to report. Once letters have landed, ask for a meeting, tell local media how many people wrote, and thank supporters. If replies come in, ask supporters to share them so you can see which offices are responding.

Letter writing campaign template

Copy this into your campaign and adapt it. The bracketed parts are for you (the organiser) or the supporter to fill in. On Better Letters, the greeting and the supporter's name, suburb and postcode are filled in automatically for each politician.

Examples of letter writing campaigns

Amnesty International's Write for Rights is probably the best-known letter writing campaign in Australia: each year supporters write letters on behalf of people whose human rights are at risk. Locally, P&Cs, residents' groups and health advocates regularly run letter campaigns to their state MPs about school funding, road safety and hospital services.

Here are campaigns running on Better Letters right now:

See all live campaigns

Letter writing campaign platform: how Better Letters works for organisers

Better Letters turns supporters into real, printed, signed letters to their own representatives. Imagine what a million letters could do. It starts with one campaign page.

• Every Australian parliament. Our database covers 846 politicians across 9 parliaments (Federal 226, New South Wales 135, Victoria 127, Queensland 93, Western Australia 96, South Australia 69, Tasmania 50, Australian Capital Territory 25, Northern Territory 25), with office addresses from each parliament's official lists.
• Postcode routing. Supporters enter their postcode and see their own federal MP, state MP and senators.
• Target by parliament, house and portfolio. Choose which parliaments and houses a campaign covers. Name a portfolio, like health or transport, and we suggest the responsible ministers and shadows.
• Your template, their words. Supporters start from your letter and can edit it or write their own. You choose whether to allow that; we recommend it.
• Per-politician letter counts. Your campaign page shows a live letter counter, and you can see how many letters each politician has received.
• Private organiser link. When you submit, you get a private link straight away to preview the campaign and send your own letters.
• Reviewed before going live. We review every campaign, usually within two business days, before it becomes public.
• Supporters pay for postage, not you. Starting a campaign is free. Supporters pay $3.95 a letter printed and posted, or $3.45 each when they send 4 or more. Or they can download the PDF free and post it themselves.
• Careful with supporter data. No account is needed to send. Letters are encrypted and deleted 24 hours after posting.

Start your campaign

It takes about ten minutes: describe the issue, choose who should get the letters, and write the campaign letter. Make sure your message is received on paper, in your supporters' own words.