Zero Political Funding Pledge — Version 1.0 — 1 August 2026
1. Purpose and principles
This procedure governs how the scheme handles: declined applications, suspensions, revocations, complaints about members, and complaints about the scheme itself. It is designed around three principles: procedural fairness (notice, an opportunity to respond, and a decision-maker who was not involved in the original decision), privacy (the two-state public rule — no adverse status is ever published), and record-keeping (every step is recorded in the scheme's append-only audit log).
2. Declined applications
2.1 A declined applicant receives written notice of the outcome and the reason category, and, where the decline arises from a screening match, sufficient detail of the match to respond to it (subject to privacy law).
2.2 The applicant may, within 30 days, request an internal review. The review is conducted by a person who did not make the original decision, considers any new material provided, and is completed within 20 business days with written reasons.
2.3 A declined application is never published. An applicant may reapply at any time; a fresh application is assessed on its merits.
3. Suspension and show-cause (other than non-payment)
3.1 Where credible information suggests a member may be in breach (a new screening match, a notification, a complaint), the scheme may suspend certification while it investigates, if continued public listing would risk misleading the public. Otherwise certification remains current during investigation.
3.2 The member is given written notice of the grounds and at least 10 business days to respond (the show-cause period), including by providing evidence that the information is wrong, relates to a different entity, or falls outside the Pledge's definitions.
3.3 Non-payment suspension and reinstatement follow the Member Agreement (clause 6.5) and are administrative; this section does not apply to them.
4. Revocation
4.1 Revocation may occur only on the grounds in clause 8.2 of the Member Agreement, decided by a person not involved in the events under investigation, after the show-cause period (except where the member admits the ground or cannot be contacted after reasonable attempts).
4.2 The member receives written reasons. Public status changes to "not currently certified"; the reason is never published.
4.3 The member may request internal review under the same mechanics as 2.2. Review does not suspend the revocation, but a successful review reinstates certification for the balance of the term.
5. Complaints about a member
5.1 Anyone may report that a certified business has made a political donation or misused the badge (report@zeropoliticalfunding.com.au). Reports are triaged within 5 business days.
5.2 A report supported by identifiable evidence (for example, a published disclosure record, or a specific verifiable transaction) triggers section 3. Anonymous or unevidenced reports are recorded but do not, alone, trigger suspension.
5.3 Complainants are told the outcome only in two-state terms (whether the business remains certified), not the detail of the investigation.
6. Complaints about the scheme
Complaints about the scheme's own conduct (service, billing, privacy, process) are acknowledged within 7 days and answered within 30. Privacy complaints follow the Privacy Policy and may be escalated to the OAIC. Consumer law rights are unaffected.
7. External step
If internal review does not resolve a certification dispute, the dispute resolution clause of the Member Agreement applies: good-faith negotiation, then mediation administered by the Resolution Institute, before any court proceeding (urgent relief excepted).
8. Records
All decisions, notices, responses and review outcomes are recorded in the append-only audit log with the identity of each decision-maker, and are producible if a decision is later challenged.