We’re here to help sexuality and gender diverse people and people with HIV in Greater Western Sydney take control of their health by providing a range of programs and services and supporting a local groups, communities and initiatives.
NSW has achieved significant progress in bringing HIV notifications down thanks to a collaborative and coordinated HIV response. But while we’ve seen dramatic declines in notifications in urban, inner Sydney areas, these efforts haven’t had the same impact in other areas, particularly Greater Western Sydney.
ACON has worked to support the health of sexuality and gender diverse people in Greater Western Sydney for many years, delivering education, support, capacity-building and community development programs and services to the area. This work has included community outreach programs, peer-led workshops, HIV prevention education and support for people living with HIV. Over the years, we have also broadened our focus to include other areas of LGBTQ+ health including community safety and social inclusion.
Addressing the unique health needs of diverse LGBTQ+ communities in Greater Western Sydney requires nuanced, tailored and culturally appropriate responses. ACON is continuing to deliver programs and service that support the health and wellbeing of our communities in Greater Western Sydney.
ACON’s HIV & Sexual Health Division operates a unit focused on addressing HIV and sexual health in Greater Western Sydney. The unit employs three full-time staff that develop and deliver peer education workshops, undertake community outreach and participate in events in the area.
ACON also has a dedicated project on fostering multicultural engagement and community development. Established in 2022, the project’s aims is to better engage multicultural communities including those living in Western Sydney in ACON programs and services.
This year, we developed and implemented Starting Out West, an education workshop specifically for culturally and linguistically diverse, and overseas-born LGBTQ+ communities from or living in Western Sydney. Workshops were delivered in partnership with Parramatta Head to Health and the Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre in Liverpool. ACON will continue to work with local partners as we expand our workshop activities in Western Sydney.
As we work to expand our workshop offerings in Western Sydney, we have commenced conducting facilitator recruitment and training in Western Sydney. Key to the success of our workshops in Western Sydney is that they are led by local community members with strong community connections.
Encouraging gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men in Greater Western Sydney to get tested for HIV and STIs was the focus of our large-scale social marketing campaign, implemented during the 2024 Sydney Mardi Gras Festival. The campaign – LET’S TEST – sought to motivate communities in Greater Western Sydney to get sexual health screenings by de-stigmatising testing and promoting services in the region. The campaign was featured in 22 placements in over 10 suburbs across Western Sydney including Parramatta, Fairfield, Penrith, Granville, Moorebank, Campbelltown and Bankstown. A campaign video tailored for Western Sydney was also produced, highlighting the ease of testing at Parramatta Sexual Health Clinic and Liverpool Sexual Health Clinic.
ACON’s a[TEST] is a peer-led service that offers rapid HIV and STI screening in Sydney’s Surry Hills and Darlinghurst. Data shows a[TEST] consistently records a high number of tests, making it one of the most popular testing sites for gay and bisexual men in Sydney. It also shows usage by populations currently at highest risk of HIV transmission such as people born overseas or living in outer suburban Sydney. During 2021-2023, 47% of clients were born overseas, while 16% of unique visits were by clients from Local Health Districts beyond central and eastern Sydney. The high demand for the service underscores the future need for community-based testing services in other areas of NSW including Greater Western Sydney.
This year, ACON’s Policy, Strategy and Research team published a paper addressing HIV among multicultural LGBTQ+ communities living in Greater Western Sydney. The paper explores the reasons why HIV notifications in Greater Western Sydney are not experiencing the same reductions as in inner Sydney over time. It examines key barriers obstructing access to prevention, testing, and treatment interventions for LGBTQ+ communities living in Greater Western Sydney, and offers case studies of successful, community-informed responses as well as recommendations for changes across the sector aimed at bringing notifications down in the region.
ACON’s Safety, Inclusion and Justice Project works to deliver safety and inclusion initiatives in Western Sydney. Its work is informed by the 2020 research report Advancing LGBTQ+ Safety and Inclusion produced by ACON and Western Sydney University. The project runs a number of initiatives including inclusive events for local communities and workshops for community leaders in the region. It also provides support to the Greater Western Sydney LGBTQ+ Inclusion Networks.
As part of our work in empowering LGBTQ+ communities in Greater Western Sydney, ACON supports five Greater Western Sydney LGBTQ+ Inclusion Networks to deliver their inclusion activities: Fairfield Liverpool Inclusive Network, Inclusive Communities Network (Canterbury-Bankstown); Macarthur-Wingecarribee Diversity Network; Parramatta Queer Forum; and Western Sydney Rainbow Connection. The networks are comprised of service providers, LGBTQ+ community members, leaders, and groups, focusing on LGBTQ+ inclusion, safety, culturally competent services provision, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration.
This year, we supported activities hosted by the networks including an IDAHOBIT event in Bankstown, an LGBTQ+ Speaker Series in Penrith, a movie night in Camden and the annual Parramatta Pride Picnic. Information about the networks and their activities are housed in a digital portal – Greater Western Sydney Inclusive Communities – produced and led by ACON.
As part of the Parramatta Queer Forum, a group comprising local residents and service providers seeking to build capacity, increase visibility and run events for sexuality and gender diverse people in the Parramatta local government area, ACON leads the production and delivery of the Parramatta Pride Picnic, the biggest outdoot LGBTQ event in Western Sydney. First held in 2008, the Parramatta Pride Picnic provides ACON and partners with a unique opportunity to promote key health messages and engage community members on HIV prevention, LGBTQ health, harm reduction and community safety. Over 1500 attended this year’s event, which was held at Parramatta Park. Since its establishment, it is estimated that over 15,000 people have attended the Parramatta Pride Picnic.
Throughout the year, ACON participated in a range of events and initiatives to raise awareness of health issues relating to LGBTQ+ communities in Greater Western Sydney.
In October 2023, we collaborated with NSW Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Sexual Health Action Group on a symposium on health equity at Club Parramatta, which brought together over 100 attendees from across the sector.
In November 2023, we participated in Hello Doctor, a health-related expo hosted by TAFE NSW Granville and the Western Sydney Local Health District, delivering over 300 occasions of service linking LGBTQ+ individuals to local health services and community groups in Western Sydney.
We continued our partnership with Western Sydney arts collectives House of Silky and West Ball to promote HIV and sexual health testing as well as harm reduction among queer and trans people in Western Sydney.
This year, we supported The Grand Silky Ball at Machine Hall as part of VIVID Sydney 2024 and we collaborated on several West Ball initiatives.
We also continued to provide sexual health information and resources to local sex-on-premises venue Aarows in Rydalmere. This partnership also enabled us to undertake community outreach on mpox and establish a pop-up vaccinations site with alongside the Western Sydney Local Health District.
ACON partnered with C3West for a project engaging CALD LGBTQ+ communities in Greater Western Sydney. In the lead up to NAIDOC, we hosted an event in Parramatta featuring short films and a panel discussion with First Nations and CALD LGBTQ+ speakers, aimed at fostering solidarity and understanding amongst our shared communities.
ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs team, which works to support organisations and service providers in LGBTQ+ inclusion, delivered over 35 hours of facilitated training to over 200 learners from a range of clients in Greater Western Sydney including councils, health and support organisations.
ACON also advised interagency forums on issues and initiatives aimed at engaging multicultural LGBTQ+ communities in Greater Western Sydney, including the LGBTIQ+ CALD Communities Health Working Group, CALD SHAG and NSW Antiracism Working Group.
ACON acknowledges the support of our many partners in Greater Western Sydney. Thank you for your commitment in caring for our communities. We also thank the Western Sydney Local Health District, the South-Western Sydney Local Health District and the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District for continuing to support LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV in Greater Western Sydney. And we thank all our staff and volunteers for their passion and efforts in building thriving communities in Greater Western Sydney.
