A new national investigation has found major coal, oil and gas companies sponsored or supported more than 260 programs across Australian schools, museums, sporting clubs, scholarships and career pathways, reaching potentially millions of children. Comms Declare and Parents for Climate are calling for a national ban on fossil fuel marketing in childhood settings and a Senate Inquiry into the scale of industry influence over what young Australians are taught.

Background/context:

In June 2026, climate communications charity Comms Declare released From Cradle to Career, the first national investigation into fossil fuel industry involvement in the places Australian children learn, play and grow. Researchers mapped publicly documented programs run or funded by coal, oil and gas companies across early learning, schools (including lesson-plans provided by the mining industry), museums, science centres, sporting clubs, scholarships, teacher training and career pathway initiatives reaching children. The findings raise several key points, including:

1. The scale is large, and largely undocumented. More than 260 publicly documented programs, partnerships and sponsorships were identified nationally.

2. Funding is opaque. It was difficult for researchers to access information on how much has been spent by the fossil fuel industry on programs that influence children, but disclosed figures totalled over $54 million. Researchers noted the true spend is likely far higher, since there's no requirement for these arrangements to be made public.

3. Public opinion isn't with the industry. PureProfile polling commissioned by Comms Declare found 87% of parents and grandparents want children's educational programs funded by governments rather than fossil fuel companies, and 58% support a ban on fossil fuel advertising altogether.

4. There is precedent to fix this problem. Comms Declare draws a direct comparison to the Commonwealth Bank's Dollarmites program, pulled from schools six years ago after an ASIC investigation into conflicts of interest. No equivalent scrutiny currently applies to fossil fuel sponsorship of childhood settings.

The ACT has already banned fossil fuel sponsorship in its public schools, and Comms Declare founder Belinda Noble has likened fossil fuel companies funding climate education to a tobacco company handing out health advice. Comms Declare is calling for a national ban on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship in childhood settings, and a Senate Inquiry into the scale, nature and impact of this engagement.

Why is this important?

Comms Declare’s investigation echoes a growing body of research that has found fossil fuel industry engagement in schools reduces opportunities for students to critically examine the industry’s role in climate change and imagine alternative energy futures. Without action, children are learning about energy, climate and the natural world partly through content shaped by the industry driving the crisis they'll inherit. Sponsorship in childhood settings rarely arrives labelled as marketing. It comes through trusted teachers, museum educators and coaches. This means families and schools often have no way of knowing it's there, let alone weighing up the conflict of interest baked into the material. Left unchecked, this builds fossil fuel companies a level of social trust that their record doesn't warrant, at a scale most Australians have no idea is happening.

Desired outcomes

That the Australian government introduces safeguards to keep fossil fuel companies out of the spaces where children learn and grow. This must include:

• A national ban on fossil fuel advertising, sponsorship and program funding in childhood education settings

• A federal Senate inquiry into the scale, nature and impact of fossil fuel industry engagement with children

• Mandatory disclosure requirements so schools, parents and regulators can see who is funding what, and on what terms

• State and territory governments should follow the ACT's lead in prohibiting fossil fuel sponsorship in public schools

• Schools, education, and other children's programs should be adequately funded so they don’t feel the need to accept funding from fossil fuel companies. This could be done by introducing a levy on fossil fuel revenue.

Who to contact: 

• Your state or territory’s Labor senators, specifically to ask for a Senate inquiry

• Your local Federal MP (check on this website if you're unsure who that is)

• Federal Education Minister Jason Clare, and Minister for Early Childhood Education and Youth Jess Walsh. (Key Federal Labor contact details)  

• Federal Senate Crossbenchers (addresses in link), including Fatima Payman (WA), and Jacqui Lambie (JLN) - their support matters for any motion to establish a Senate Inquiry. The Greens and other community independent senators are likely to already be supportive. 

• Your State or Territory Education Minister - school sponsorship rules are set at state level, which is where a ban like the ACT's gets made 

Resources:

• Email example below and General email template here to write your own from scratch

• Guidelines and tips for writing emails

• The full report: From Cradle to Career, Comms Declare

Action you can take:

1. Email your MP and/or relevant Ministers:

If you need some help getting started with your email, here is an example. 

Please don’t copy it exactly - personalise it and tailor it to the MP you are writing to. 

In addition, when writing to a Minister or Shadow Minister, start by saying that you’re writing to them in their role as Minister for xxxx, otherwise they will probably just forward your email to your local MP.

[MP name] [Member for …. or Minister for ….]

Dear …,

[personal statement, who you are and why you care]

I'm writing about the recent Comms Declare investigation, ‘From Cradle to Career’, which found more than 260 fossil fuel industry programs, sponsorships and partnerships operating across Australian schools, museums, sporting clubs and career pathways, reaching potentially millions of children. Companies including Santos, BHP, Woodside, Glencore, Chevron and Shell were linked to sponsorship, teaching resources or program funding in childhood settings, often with little public visibility over the terms involved.

I'm concerned that children are encountering coal, oil and gas companies through trusted teachers, museum educators and sports coaches rather than as clearly labelled advertising, and that current rules do little to require transparency around these arrangements.

The climate crisis will severely impact the world our children will inherit. I don't think it's appropriate for the industry driving that crisis to also be shaping how children learn about it.

So, I am contacting you to ask:

Will you support a national ban on fossil fuel advertising, sponsorship and program funding in childhood education settings?

Will you back a Senate Inquiry into the scale and impact of fossil fuel industry engagement with Australian children?

Will you require schools and childhood institutions to publicly disclose corporate sponsorship arrangements, including from fossil fuel companies?

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Name 

Address

Phone

(Note: your contact details are required if you want a reply)

Hi, my name is ….. and I’m a voter in [your electorate].

I’d like to speak to …..[name of MP]

(Staffer will probably say: I’m sorry they’re not available, can I take a message?)

Yes, thank you! Would you please tell them:

I'm concerned that fossil fuel companies have embedded themselves in more than 260 programs across Australian schools, museums and sporting clubs, often with no public disclosure of the funding or influence involved.

And ask them to support a national ban on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship in childhood settings, and back a Senate Inquiry into the scale of this industry engagement with children.

Thank you!

Climate change and compounding vulnerabilities

Climate change affects everyone, but not equally. In Australia, women, the elderly, Indigenous peoples, children, and people with disabilities are often more vulnerable to climate-driven events heatwaves, floods, and food or water shortages. This is because these risks amplify the impacts of existing disadvantages, like socioeconomic factors, pre-existing health conditions, or limited access to resources. For example, older people with limited mobility or chronic illnesses are more likely to suffer heat-related illness; extreme heat and water shortages further strain already reduced services in some remote Indigenous communities; and people with chronic heart or lung diseases are more at risk of adverse health effects from bushfires or dust storms.