Sydneysiders and NSW residents who are affected by HIV or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) can now access key health and wellbeing services from a new home in Surry Hills.

Sydneysiders and NSW residents who are affected by HIV or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender can now access key health and wellbeing services from the same place following the opening today of a new centre in Surry Hills by the NSW Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research, Jillian Skinner.

The new premises at 414 Elizabeth St – just one block up from Central Station – now houses all Sydney-based staff and facilities of ACON, and brings together operations previously split across several sites in Sydney’s inner east.

The building is also the new home for a range of other HIV-related organisations including the Sex Worker’s Outreach Project (SWOP), the NSW HIV/AIDS Legal Service and the AIDS Trust of Australia.
The centre features community meeting spaces, counselling facilities, therapy rooms, and a community cafe.

Mrs Skinner said the NSW Government was committed to improving the health and wellbeing of people affected by HIV, and those at risk of contracting it.
“The NSW Government has a proud history of working closely with people living with HIV and the GLBT community. The provision of these new premises builds on that partnership,” Mrs Skinner said.

“NSW is one of the only places in the world where HIV transmission rates have not increased in over a decade and this success has only been possible by investing in targeted and culturally-sensitive health promotion initiatives delivered by people and organisations from the affected communities.
“The NSW Government is confident that this new centre in Surry Hills will significantly increase the capacity of ACON, and other resident organisations, to continue their vital mission of improving the health and wellbeing of our community,” Mrs Skinner said.

ACON President Mark Orr said the new premises offer a range of benefits for ACON’s clients and community members as well as staff and stakeholders across the HIV and GLBT community sectors.
Mr Orr said the new location also brings the offices of SWOP closer to the hub of Sydney’s sex industry, enhancing access for sex workers to health promotion services.

“On behalf of ACON’s Board, staff, volunteers and supporters, I thank the NSW Government for investing in this new centre which is already enabling us to be more effective in our provision of community health services,” Mr Orr said.
“This new facility exemplifies the bipartisan support that ACON and the response to HIV in NSW has received from successive governments since the early 1980s.
“Being able to provide our services from a single, central, accessible location will enable ACON to more effectively pursue its mission of preventing the transmission of HIV, promoting the health and wellbeing of people living with and affected by HIV and promoting the health and wellbeing of our community.”