Dr. Justin Koonin | ACON President
Michael Woodhouse | ACON CEO
It has been a very important year for ACON in terms of progressing our vision to be a global leader in community health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders, and fulfilling our purpose of “creating opportunities for people in our communities to live their healthiest lives”.
Now, as we conclude the final year of the ACON Strategic Plan 2019-2024, we can reflect on a number of achievements that have contributed towards our goal of meeting our purpose and objectives.
We continued our work to end HIV transmission for all in our communities. Over the course of the year, HIV diagnoses in NSW continued to decline. There has been high use of PrEP across NSW, particularly among gay and bisexual men, and an earlier uptake of HIV treatments that will lead to better health for more people in our communities.
But there is still more work to do. The majority of people newly diagnosed with HIV are now born overseas and we are still not seeing the same rates of decline in outer suburban areas of Sydney and regional NSW. We will continue to adapt and tailor our responses to reach all communities at risk of HIV transmission in NSW.
Delivering excellent, client-centred care and innovative community health programming is a key strategic focus for ACON. This year, we have been able to expand our reach in areas such as mental health, alcohol and other drugs support, domestic and family violence, ageing and community safety.
This year, substantial progress has been made in the realisation of an ACON Health Centre – a key objective of our strategic plan. In April, we were proud to unveil Kaleido Health, an integrated, community-controlled and inclusive service specifically designed to meet the health needs of sexuality and gender diverse people and their families, situated in the Belltower building on Gadigal land in Sydney’s South Eveleigh precinct.
We thank the NSW Government for their support for Kaleido Health. We look forward to working with the NSW Health as well as our other partners in delivering this new community-driven health service for LGBTQ+ people in NSW.
Sexuality and gender diverse people experience a disproportionate cancer burden and face unique challenges compared to the general population. In the past 12 months we have continued to raise awareness on cancer screening and prevention among our communities through bold, engaging and innovative campaigns. Such has been their success that some of this important work has been expanded from statewide coverage to national distribution.
Another important area of focus for ACON has been the prevention of mpox. As cases rise in Australia, we have been working closely with NSW Health and other partners on developing and implementing strategies to inform and protect our communities against mpox.
ACON continues to build our presence in Greater Western Sydney. We developed ‘Starting Out West’, a peer education workshop specifically for culturally and linguistically diverse, and overseas-born LGBTQ+ communities, in Western Sydney. We continued to collaborate with local groups such as House of Silky to deliver HIV, sexual health and risk reduction messages to queer and trans people in the area and we strengthened partnerships with a range of organisations and interagency forums such as NSW Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Sexual Health Action Group and the Greater Western Sydney LGBTQ+ Inclusion Networks.
In the coming year, we will continue to provide support and work with local communities to ensure LGBTQ+ people in Greater Western Sydney have access to inclusive and culturally safe resources, services and spaces.
The theme of safety also lies at the heart of our ongoing work in advocating for truth and justice for victims of historical hate crimes. This year, the long-running Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ Hate Crimes released its recommendations and we were heartened to see all of them accepted in full by the NSW Government. These measures will shed more light on unsolved cases and also improve systems and processes in the handling of hate crimes in NSW. ACON stands ready to work with the NSW Government and other agencies to fully implement the reforms necessary to protect our communities.
Developing financial diversity, strength and growth is critical to our operations and sustainability. We maintained our focus on prudent financial management in an increasingly challenging economic environment. Over the coming year, we will seek out and pursue new funding opportunities as we implement programs and services that address the health and support needs of our communities.
As detailed in the pages of this report, this year we achieved many other important outcomes across all our work areas and we thank our staff, board, members, volunteers and supporters for their time, expertise, contributions, partnership and assistance. ACON would not have the impact that it does without the passion and efforts of so many people and organisations. We thank our clients and community members for caring for each other and working to keep our community healthy and strong.
There are many who embody this spirit of compassion and community, and we would like to take a moment to honour four such individuals and their contributions to ACON.
In September, we bade farewell to Nicolas Parkhill, who stepped down from the organisation after 18 years. Nicolas’ strategic leadership, relentless pursuit of excellence, spirit of innovation and collaborative approach have seen ACON achieve remarkable growth and success. He leaves behind an organisation that is strong, agile and responsive.
Nicolas has been a fervent champion for our communities and we thank him for his unwavering passion and commitment to improving health outcomes for people living with HIV and LGBTQ+ people. The communities ACON serves are stronger and more resilient thanks to his tireless efforts.
We also wish to acknowledge ACON’s Deputy CEO Karen Price who, after over a decade, stepped down in October. Karen has been a powerful force at ACON, leading the organisation into new areas of growth such as cancer prevention and primary care. It is thanks to Karen’s vision, courage and grit that we have been able to make great strides with Kaleido Health over the years. Thank you Karen for all your contributions to ACON and to our communities.
We also wish to highlight the outstanding work of Teddy Cook, ACON’s Director of Community Health, who concluded his 12 years of service in August. Teddy worked across client services, community health and regional services, and his commitment to health equity sharpened our focus on supporting the health of trans and gender diverse people. We salute you Teddy and thank you for all you have accomplished over the years.
Finally, we wish to honour Bill Whittaker, ACON’s first CEO, who sadly passed away in September 2024. Bill was at the helm of ACON from 1986 to 1990 and was one of the architects of Australia’s response to HIV. He was a prominent, passionate and pioneering gay activist who worked tirelessly to promote the health and human rights of LGBTQ+ communities. We pay tribute to Bill and his life-changing contributions to LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV.
Bill’s legacy, and the contributions our dedicated and hard-working staff – past and present – will inspire us as we develop our new strategic plan that will guide our work for the next five years. As the pace of change increases and our work becomes more complex, our new strategic plan will be a roadmap that will guide us as we meet the challenges facing the organisation and our communities in coming years.
Thank you for your support for ACON. We look forward to walking with you on the journey ahead.
