ACON: AIDS Council of New South Wales

In August 1985, the AIDS Council of New South Wales (ACON) formally incorporated. This followed a public AIDS Forum organised by the NSW AIDS Action Committee, which had been held two years earlier at the Paddington Town Hall on 15 August 1983. Lex Watson served as ACON’s first President.

AIDS: What Can We Do? Public Meeting (1985 announcement of a public meeting held by ACON). *Image courtesy of the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives.*

Initial funding of $73,000 was provided by the Commonwealth Government but volunteer contributions were crucial to its operation.

AIDS Council of New South Wales Volunteer Application, 1985. Image courtesy of the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives.

The AIDS Council of New South Wales played a pivotal role in educating an impacted community. In the 1985-1986 financial year, ACON distributed more than fifty thousand pieces of literature. That year’s annual report also stated that:

ACON’s promotion of condoms as part of safe sex resulted in the distribution of twelve thousand printed covers containing condoms.

Even in the 1985-1986 financial year, ACON noted that:

more than ten thousand hours of direct service have been provided to fifty clients by one hundred and fifty trained volunteers. Training programs throughout the year produced one hundred and sixty-five graduates.

In 2018, ACON, continues to focus on promoting the lifelong health of LGBTIQ people, people with HIV and ending HIV transmission among gay and homosexually active men.