Why should I join Fusion and not X?
When government needs to step into private enterprise, do you prefer facilitation or incentives over regulation and mandates?
If you prefer mandated regulatory approaches, you may be more comfortable in: The Greens.
Will you accept regulation or mandates as temporary measures when the evidence shows they work, or are they unacceptable to you outright?
If you can't tolerate direct intervention even when it's evidence-based and expedient, you may be more comfortable in: The Libertarian Party.
Do you value defending spaces created specifically for disadvantaged communities? Or do you prefer systemic changes that serve everyone equally, regardless of background?
Systemic change tends to reduce the need for community-specific spaces over time. If you'd rather defend those spaces instead of seeking broader inclusive solutions, you may be more comfortable in: Labor.
Reform should be pursued responsibly, without creating new harm along the way. That said:
If you prefer the full social freedom that comes with systemic reform, welcome to Fusion.
What are Fusion's core issues? How has Fusion developed a policy platform from its divergent constituent parties?
Fusion has built a comprehensive policy platform on shared goals (see here), but it's also strongly founded on four core policy platforms, one from each constituent party.
The values of Fusion's constituent parties aren't divergent — we just focus on different policy areas. To build the platform, we identified our common policy positions while making sure each party could contribute its core specialties. The whole process has involved deep discussions and information sharing.
Why don't you have an acknowledgement of country on your website?
Despite the suggestions of Reconciliation Australia, Fusion is informed by consultation with First Nations community representatives. Based on these conversations, we reserve acknowledgements of country for direct personal interactions — meetings and events — where the expression is in keeping with the spirit a welcome to country is intended to carry.
Who does Fusion give their preferences to?
Your preferences are your own! Changes to the preference regulations in the upper house mean parties can no longer direct preferences to candidates of their choosing — they can only recommend to voters how to preference other parties on the ballot. We typically provide these recommendations as how-to-vote cards before election day, in flyers and posted on our website.
Fusion will recommend preferences based on other candidates' alignment with our vision and principles. Fusion aligns with parties that value action on the climate emergency, integrity in politics, pragmatic solutions to a stronger economy, justice, equity, and social responsibility.
It's fair to say we don't regard the current government as good or effective, and we created the party to give voters an alternative that reflects their views.
For a one-minute rundown on how preferential votes are counted, see here.
For Juice Media's summary on how preferential voting works, see here.
Aren't smaller parties just stealing votes from larger parties?
In Australia we have preferential voting, which means putting a minor party as your #1 preference does NOT reduce the chances of parties ranked lower on your ballot getting a seat.
What's Fusion's electoral strategy?
Our goal is to get members elected to help form a healthy cross-bench — any emerging party's best chance for this is the Senate. The Party Integrity Bill was a huge hurdle for every emerging party to clear, and it's no coincidence the Bill was passed and enacted just ahead of a federal election.
Fusion has contested the 2022 and 2025 federal elections and the 2023 Aston by-election, fielding 24 candidates for the House of Representatives and Senate in 2025. Each campaign builds the case for a longer, better-resourced run at particular seats.
Even without winning a seat outright, our stated policies influence the actions of other parties' candidates, and we affect election outcomes through how-to-vote advice and voter education on important issues.
Why was Fusion created? Weren't there other parties you could join?
Fusion is a volunteer-run political party formed in 2021 from the merger of five minor parties: the Science Party, Pirate Party, Secular Party, Vote Planet, and the Climate Change Justice Party. We came together because none of us saw the social, economic, ecological, and governance pathway we wanted for Australia represented in any existing party.
The 'Party Integrity Bill' — which required parties to re-register within three months with triple the minimum number of members — became the catalyst that brought us together to align on common values while diversifying our scope and reach.
In 2025, Fusion merged again with the Australian Progressives and Democracy First, fielding 24 candidates for the House of Representatives and Senate under the ballot name FUSION | Planet Rescue | Whistleblower Protection | Innovation. Fusion has since parted ways with Democracy First, after the partnership turned out to run counter to a number of our goals.
Why didn't Fusion just join the Greens or ALP?
While many of the values held by Fusion's constituent parties mirror those of the Greens, and many of our executive have previously worked with the Greens and ALP, there are a number of reasons we wouldn't just join forces with them.
Each Fusion constituent party, and Fusion as a whole, differs enough from the Greens in our core areas to warrant something different.
There's both a perception and a reality that the Greens don't act pragmatically or represent the majority of Australians — without a major internal culture change and a national awareness campaign, the Greens won't be an effective alternative to the current government and opposition, particularly in regional and rural electorates.
Among other things, the Greens don't have pragmatic policies on climate emergency mobilisation, urban planning, civil and digital liberties, and privacy.
What were you thinking with the name Fusion: Science, Pirate, Secular, Climate Emergency?
A party name has to be noticeable on the ballot, but it also has to be recognisable to members of the different parties when the Electoral Commission calls to confirm their membership. Faced with the ironically named 'Party Integrity Bill,' we had to make sure all existing members of the five founding parties would get the message — so the original ballot name bundled Vote Planet and the Climate Change Justice Party under the single 'Climate Emergency' label to keep the full name short enough to fit.
We think the full name FUSION, Science, Pirate, Secular, Climate Emergency was certainly noticeable on the ballot, and while we had some reservations about how it would land, it already raised eyebrows — and when a party is starting out, any press is good press.
After merging again in 2025 with the Australian Progressives and Democracy First, we updated the ballot name to FUSION | Planet Rescue | Whistleblower Protection | Innovation to reflect the new combination of parties.
Why is Fusion changing its name to "votefusion.org | for big ideas"?
Fusion has lodged an application with the Australian Electoral Commission to change its federal registered name to votefusion.org | for big ideas. As Owen Miller explains, generic claims like "best party" don't resonate with voters — Fusion needs to own a distinct position rather than compete head-on with established parties on their terms. This application is still pending AEC approval; until it's finalised, our registered name remains FUSION | Planet Rescue | Whistleblower Protection | Innovation.
Why is Fusion Party Victoria registering as "Fusion Party Victoria – Reignite Democracy"?
Fusion's Victorian branch has applied to the Victorian Electoral Commission to register as Fusion Party Victoria – Reignite Democracy. As Drew Wolfendale argues, progressives shouldn't cede powerful language like "democracy" and "strength" just because other groups have used similar words — retreating from that language only hands it to them. Some have raised concerns about the name given its similarity to language used by unrelated groups, but the branch's position is that the substance of genuine democratic reform — rebuilding trust, strengthening representation, improving accountability — matters more than who else has used similar words. This application is still pending VEC approval.