The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has locked a non-government organisation out of human rights talks because it planned to protest outside the building where the discussions are taking place.
The Falun Gong movement has been protesting against what it describes as persecution and torture of its followers in China.
The group had been invited to today's annual summit on human rights issues, held by DFAT in Canberra.
However, Falun Gong organiser Daniel Clark says when the group organised a protest for the same day, the Government withdrew its invitation.
"When we arrived at the front desk we were told we were no longer welcome at the forum," he said.
"When we asked for a reason we were basically told that because you've set up a display outside DFAT that shows examples of the persecution in China, we were told for that reason we were no longer welcome."
However a spokesman for DFAT says the group was given advance notice last week that a protest was not in the spirit of the consultation to which they had been invted.
He says the invitation was withdrawn yesterday on that basis.