Seventy-eight agencies have represented 84 coal, oil and gas companies in Australia and New Zealand in 2025 and 2026 according to the new F-List.
It comes as gas companies successfully lobbied against a tax on Australian gas export super profits – even as the Iran war sent gas prices and profits soaring.
Bucking the global trend, there has been a drop in fossil fuel contracts across Australia and New Zealand, from 170 to 140. However, advertising spending by the Australian fossil fuel sector jumped in the first quarter of 2026 to $48.45 million as the industry pushed to prevent the gas tax.
Belinda Noble, Founder of climate communications charity, Comms Declare said; “The only thing worse than representing big gas is helping them dodge fair taxes while they’re making record profits in a cost of living crisis.
‘We’re asking anyone using agencies on the F-List to move their business, as we face what looks to be a record-breaking hot summer, fuelled by coal, oil and gas companies and their enablers. ”
Comms Declare has started a Clean Directory for agencies that have sworn off fossil fuels.
Fighting the gas tax
Gas lobbyist, Australian Energy Producers (AEP), spent up to $7 million fighting the tax. Its agencies are Curious Minds Media, CMAX Advisory and Freshwater Strategy. Chevron ran press and digital ads against the tax – its agencies are Willard Public Affairs, Carat Australia and SEC Newgate. Hawker Britton lobbied against the tax for ConocoPhillips (see below case study).
Nayantara Dutta, Head of Research at Clean Creatives said, “In six years of research, we have found continued evidence that agencies are nowhere close to giving up their fossil fuel contracts. It is startling to see how the creative industry refuses to change, even as it acknowledges the need for climate solutions. All this time, creative work has continued to follow the same themes across different global markets, rather than meaningfully responding to the climate crisis. Most of the contracts in the global F-List for 2026 have never been reported on before, which highlights how much has been hidden.”
F-List By the Numbers
134 – fossil fuel contracts in Australia (down from 156)
18 – Omnicom is the holding company with the most fossil fuel contracts
10 – most fossil fuel contracts with one agency, GRACosway
8 – most contracts belonging to one company, Ampol (includes Z Energy)
6 – fossil fuel contracts in New Zealand (down from 14)
6 – most contracts for a fossil fuel company that is not a retailer, BHP