The East Timor Independence Committee can be traced back to roughly 1981, when Helen Yensen revitalized Greenpeace and East Timor activist Elaine Shaw's solidarity and networking efforts. Membership grew steadily throughout the 1980s. The Santa Cruz massacre prompted further outrage surrounding the occupation of East Timor and brought further support for the group's efforts. ETIC Auckland took responsibility for the production and mailing of most of the issues of the national newsletter, Nettalk, around 1994, along with its occasional supplements, known as Action Alerts. Work was done by unpaid volunteers and solidarity activities were financed through donations and fundraising. Upon the group's dissolution in 2000, the ETIC recommended its members become involved with the Timor Lorosae Support Group and the Indonesian Human Rights Committee to ensure Timor's smooth transition to independence. The ETIC's remaining assets were distributed amongst various organizations supporting Timorese independence.

The East Timor Talks campaign was an ad-hoc group formed to call for a Timorese-Indonesian dialogue process. Founded by Pat Walsh, Herb Feith and others, it was based in Australia, but also operated internationally.