On the milestone of ACON’s 40th anniversary, Chief Executive Officer Michael Woodhouse reflects on its important legacy and shares a vision for the organisation as it heads into the future.

By John Burfitt

ACON turns 40 this year, marking four decades of community-led action that’s transformed the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ communities across NSW. 

For ACON CEO Michael Woodhouse, it’s more than a milestone. It’s an opportunity to reflect on the people and achievements of ACON’s past, address the challenges of today and plan for the future chapters of service and advocacy.

“It’s so important to mark ACON’s 40th anniversary because this story is the community’s story,” he says. “We have 40 years of history of this community’s successes and struggles, and we deserve to celebrate and remember the many ways in which people have worked through ACON to build a better future for the next generations. 

“To be part of the movement that is creating a better community for all of the people that we serve, that’s one of the things that inspires me to keep going.”

Founded in 1985 as the AIDS Council of NSW as the HIV/AIDS crisis was taking hold, ACON was formed to respond to the health and support needs of people who were living with or affected by HIV. As the pandemic rapidly expanded, so too did the extent of ACON’s services. 

“We stood up as an organisation that could be accountable to the community and marshal the resources to deliver a response that was equivalent to the size of the problem,” he says. 

“And for 40 years, we’ve kept doing that. ACON is still relevant today because people choose to do fantastic community work through this organisation and we continue to be a place where people come to seek support, ask for assistance and to find their tribe.”

When medications in the mid-1990s changed the course of the pandemic, so too did ACON’s direction by becoming a more encompassing health and wellbeing organisation for LGBTQ+ communities. 

In 1998, Woodhouse commenced his first tenure with ACON, when he spent three years as Director of Community Health. He returned as CEO in September 2024 and notes the greatest success of the past 12 months has been the opening of the Kaleido Health Centre, offering inclusive healthcare tailored to LGBTQ+ people. 

“It has been fantastic seeing people coming through the doors to find care that is supportive of their needs,” he says. “It was a pretty big risk, and it is to ACON’s credit that it was prepared to find a solution that our communities needed.”

Looking forward, Woodhouse has a clear set of priorities for ACON as it heads into its fifth decade. High on the list is the elimination of HIV transmission, something he admits he would once never have imagined seeing in his lifetime. 

“It is possible,” he says. “We will, of course, continue to provide excellent services and support for people who are living with HIV, but it’s possible to get there.”

He is equally passionate about ACON ensuring access to gender affirming care, which he describe as being lifesaving. 

“We know that’s what trans people need ¬– to have their healthcare needs met, to find a way to move through the world in a positive and happy way.”

Mental health support is another area which Woodhouse states remains an essential ACON service. “Rates of suicide are still disturbingly way too high,” he says. “ACON has a really important role to play in making sure there are available services that can be accessible by people when they need it most.”

Woodhouse adds, however, he’s alarmed by what he believes is a backwards step in workplace inclusion. “There are fewer people willing to be out in the workplace today than five years ago,” he says, adding ACON’s Pride Inclusion programs have a vital role to address this.

“Our work promoting diversity, equity and inclusion is part of building safe, affirming, inclusive workplaces, so the place where so many of us spend so many hours a week is an environment where we feel we can be ourselves.”

Addressing women’s health is another area where, he states, ACON has more work to do, especially with the current state of inequities. 

“There’s a really urgent need for services for women in areas like alcohol and other drugs use, cancer prevention and finding social connections,” he says. 

“Women have always been central to ACON’s mission, but it’s also an area where we need to do the work to attract more resources to build programs.”

In the current turbulent social and political climate, Woodhouse says ACON must stay defiantly active, tackling major challenges head-on.

“Right now is a pretty sticky time for lots of people, and particularly for our communities,” he says. “Many of the things we fought for and thought we’d won are actually back up for debate in ways you would have thought aren’t possible.

“But I’m an optimist and reckon we get there in the end. But you can’t take that for granted. ACON has to play a really important role, continuing to find ways for the rest of the community to understand our lives and to step up on our behalf.”