A peak organisation or peak body is an Australian term for an

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...

, an association of industries or groups with allied interests. They are generally established for the purposes of developing

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

s and processes, or to act on behalf of all members when

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

government or promoting the interests of the members. While there is no official granting of Peak Body status, peak bodies are widely accepted as the legitimate "voice" or representative of a profession or industry, as opposed to just a geographic/commercial/cultural/political subset of that profession, as evidenced by requests for media comment and inclusion in government consultations. They often have to present codes of conduct or ethics which can be used in legal cases determining negligence, can conduct industry-focused lobbying, and also can be providers of mandatory industry training. In the commercial sector they allow competing companies to meet to discuss common issues without the risk of breaching the ''

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 The ''Competition and Consumer Act 2010'' (CCA) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia. Prior to 1 January 2011, it was known as the ''Trade Practices Act 1974'' (TPA). The Act is the legislative vehicle for competition law in Australia, an ...

'' which outlaws

collusion Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...

between competitors which would affect the operation of a

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

Examples

Examples of Australia-wide organisations include: *

Australian Breastfeeding Association The Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) is an Australian organisation interested in the promotion of breastfeeding and protection of nursing mothers. Members of ABA include nursing mothers and their partners as well as health professionals ...

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) is Australia's largest and most representative business association, comprising state and territory chambers of commerce and national industry associations. ACCI represents Australian busines ...

Australian Conservation Foundation The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability. One high-profil ...

Australian Council of Social Service The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) is an Australian organisation that advocates for action to reduce poverty and inequality, and is the peak body for the community services sector in Australia. It was formed in 1956. ACOSS is act ...

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and la ...

* Australian Dads Network *

Australian Hotels Association The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) is a federation of not-for-profit employer associations in the hotel and hospitality industry, registered under the Fair Work Act and respective State Laws. The AHA's role is to further and protect the inte ...

Australian Industry Group The Australian Industry Group, also called Ai Group, is an employers' organisation, whose members employ over 750,000 people throughout Australia. The organisation covers a wide range of industries including manufacturing, engineering, constructi ...

* Australian School of Entrepreneurship (ASE) *

Australian Youth Affairs Coalition The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) is the national peak body for young people and the youth sector in Australia. AYAC was founded in 2002 and is supported by a representative board of directors including young people and youth workers. A ...

* Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation *

Business Council of Australia The Business Council of Australia (BCA) is an industry association that comprises the chief executives of more than 100 of Australia's biggest corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable – a spin-off of the Comm ...

* Carers Australia *

Commercial Radio Australia Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) is the peak body for the commercial radio broadcasting industry in Australia. CRA was formed in 1930 as the Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters. It provides representation and advocacy on common statuto ...

* EduGrowth *

Environmental Health Australia Environmental Health Australia (EHA) is the premier professional body for Environmental Health Officers or Environmental Health Practitioners (Public Health Inspectors) in Australia. Established as a non-profit organisation A nonprofit organ ...

FreeTV Australia FreeTV is the industry body that represents the Free-to-air Australian TV networks. It is unique in that it is an industry body that has all the companies in the industry as members. Formerly known as the Federation of Australian Commercial Tele ...

* Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) *

Governance Institute of Australia Governance Institute of Australia, formerly Chartered Secretaries Australia, is an independent professional association for company secretaries, governance advisers and risk managers in Australia, committed to promoting sound practice in governan ...

* Home Education Association, Australia
ME/CFS Australia
* Migration Alliance * Minerals Council of Australia * Muscular Dystrophy Foundation Australia * National Academies Forum
National Association for the Visual Arts
*

National Farmers Federation The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) is an Australian non-profit membershipbased organization that represents farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia. Historically, NFF was a key player in a number of industrial relations disputes, inc ...

National LGBTI Health Alliance LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (formerly the National LGBTI Health Alliance) is a peak health organisation for LGBT and intersex organisations in Australia. A not-for-profit company, it was established in August 2007. Key areas of activity Key foc ...

* People With Disability Australia *

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is a professional organisation of Australian pharmacists. PSA is the peak national body for pharmacists, representing all of the pharmacy profession in Australia, with approximately 18,000 members. ...

* Printing Industries Association of Australia *

Public Relations Institute of Australia The Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) is a peak body for public relations and communication professionals in Australia. It promotes high ethical standards in the public relations and communication industry through accredited members ...

* Plastics Industry Pipe Association of Australia * Rare Voices Australia *

Scarlet Alliance Scarlet Alliance is Australia's national peak sex worker organisation. It was formed in 1989. As an organisation maintained entirely by current and former sex workers, Scarlet Alliance aims to achieve equality, social, legal, political, cultu ...

* Sleep Disorders Australia * Strata Community Association *

Universities Australia Universities Australia (formerly the ''Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee'') is an organisation founded in Sydney in May 1920, which attempts to advance higher education through voluntary, cooperative and coordinated action. After being ba ...

* Volunteering Australia *

Wireless Institute of Australia The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) was formed in 1910, and is the first and oldest national amateur radio society in the world. It represents the amateur radio operators of Australia as the AR "peak body" in dealings with the Austral ...

State-wide organisations

Conservation Council of South Australia The Conservation Council of South Australia, also known as Conservation SA and Conservation Council SA, is an environmental organisation serving as a peak body, representing over 50 member groups, representing over 90,000 individual members, in ...

South Australian Literary Societies' Union South Australian Literary Societies' Union (1883–1926) was a peak or advocacy organisation of literary societies in South Australia. It organised competitions between the member societies and established a "Union Parliament" to debate issues o ...

* VACCHO - Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization

References

Australian English {{Australia-org-stub de:Spitzenverband

Examples

State-wide organisations

See also

References