7 February 2011

New Location Brings Together Key HIV Services

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people and people affected by HIV will soon be able to access key health and wellbeing services from the same place when staff from ACON’s four Sydney sites move to a single location in Surry Hills in May.

The new premises at 414 Elizabeth St – just next to Central Station – will house all ACON’s  Sydney-based staff and facilities. This will include the Positive Living Centre, the Sex Workers Outreach Project and the Luncheon Club, which is jointly run by ACON and HIV/AIDS charity the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation.

ACON President Mark Orr says the move has several important benefits for ACON’s clients and communities.

“Moving to the new building will significantly improve our service delivery by creating a ‘one-stop-shop’ for ACON clients and will enable us to save a considerable amount of money by reducing the maintenance and administration costs we currently incur by having four different operational sites,” Mr Orr says. 

"The new location also offers better public transport access for our clients and brings us closer to our communities in Sydney’s inner-west while keeping us close to the historical centre of the GLBT community in Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. For our sex worker clients, having our offices closer to the centre of inner Sydney’s sex work industry will improve their access to our health promotion services."

Community groups and organisations that are currently located at Commonwealth St will be joining ACON in the new building. Several other GLBT community organisations may also co-locate, details of which will be announced in the coming weeks.

ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill says the new premises will create new synergies for clients, community members and staff across the HIV and GLBT community sectors. “The move will mean many of the services we provide to individuals and groups will be enhanced by better facilities, more meeting spaces and improved access to partner agencies” Mr Parkhill says.

"We’re excited about the move and the benefits it will bring but we understand that change always brings challenges and concerns and we’ll be working hard to make this transition as smooth as possible in terms of the impact it will have on clients, staff and services. To this end we want to hear from clients and the community about any concerns and how we can make the most of this new opportunity"

ACON plans to release updates and briefings on the move and new premises over the next few weeks, in the lead up to an anticipated move date in May 2011. Consultations with clients and stakeholders will be ongoing as details of the move are finalised.

"We’ll be doing all we can to keep people up to date as details are worked out, and of course we have a number of natural opportunities to inform community members and to receive feedback over the Mardi Gras period," Mr Parkhill says.

Feedback can be provided via the ACON website at: www.acon.org.au/relocationfeedback