GoFundMe has frozen access to more than $160,000 in funds raised by supporters of a convoy of trucks and cars converging on Canberra to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
After vehicles began arriving in the national capital on Monday morning, Australian Federal Police were forced to defend the front doors of Parliament House, as hundreds of people who were part of the larger protest moved towards the public entrance.
The Convoy to Canberra rally is being led by groups who are against mandatory vaccinations and includes the so-called Sovereign Citizens movement, with many trucks, vans and cars travelling thousands of kilometres from interstate to join the rally.
Many demonstrators were seen waving the Australian and red ensign flags upside down, which is widely seen as a signal of distress, while some were holding signs with the message "Make Australia Great Again".
Members of the crowd yelled "freedom" and "sack them all" and also belted out renditions of Amazing Grace and John Farnham's You're the Voice.
The Last Post was also played.
Parliament is not sitting until next week, but the demonstrators demanded a "representative" come and address the people who had travelled to be in Canberra and took to social media to declare the protests would take place over several days.
The protest mirrors similar protests overseas, including a convoy of thousands of Canadian truckers and other protesters who converged on Ottawa over the weekend to protest against the government's vaccine mandate.
But a crowdfunding effort by the demonstrators has run into trouble, with the funding website GoFundMe freezing access to money.
GoFundMe wants details about how the money will be spent
A GoFundMe associated with the Australian convoy has been widely circulated among supporters on social media and raised more than $160,000 from over 2,500 donations in four days.
But the anonymous organiser, who calls themselves Ironbark Thunderbolt, is unable to access the funds until they are able to detail how the money will be spent, according to GoFundMe.
"The funds will be held safely until the organiser completes the verification process, and is able to provide documentation to our team about how funds will be distributed," a spokesperson from the funding website said.
On the convoy's GoFundMe's description, the person who calls themselves Ironbark Thunderbolt says the money will be given to West Australian doomsday prepper, James Greer, who has declared his intention to drive his camper van to Canberra to protest vaccine mandates.
"Money will be withdrawn into James' account and the team will gather receipts and information from those in need for reimbursement or transfer," the convoy's GoFundMe description reads.
"Transfers will then be made directly to the people in need. Our lawful team are happy to deal with any discrepancies."
Ironbark Thunderbolt, Mr Greer and other organisers of the convoy have not responded to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, the GoFundMe is still being promoted and supporters and donors have not been informed the funds have been frozen.
Canadian convoy hit same roadblock
A crowdfunding page for the Canadian convoy had exactly the same issue last week, with GoFundMe freezing access to $CAD4.5 million ($5 million).
On that occasion, the organiser had also initially failed to provide GoFundMe with a clear plan about how the money would be spent.
They later provided such a plan and withdrew $CAD1 million ($1.1 million) three days ago to cover participants' fuel costs.
On the Australian convoy's Facebook page, members have voiced confusion and frustration with the process of claiming the expenses they had been told would be covered by the GoFundMe money.
Some drivers have travelled thousands of kilometres to attend the protest and expect to be reimbursed for fuel costs.
On Sunday, two drivers on their way to the rally crashed their utes in a pile-up near the Hawkesbury River.
GoFundMe said it was working with the organiser.
"We are continuing to work directly with the organiser to gather information about how funds are being distributed, this is part of our standard process to ensure the protection of all donors," the spokesperson said.
"Once a withdrawal plan is provided by the organiser, our team is on stand-by to safely and quickly deliver the funds."
Police have urged motorists in Canberra to avoid roads around Parliament House and have blocked-off vehicle access to some entry points of the building.
Last month the front entrance of Old Parliament House was set on fire as protests took place outside the building.
