We create life-affirming events across Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide for LGBTQIA+ youth. Whether a dance party or our Queer Formal®, Minus18 events are fun, safe, and build resilience and confidence.

Since 2011, more than 60,000 LGBTQIA+ youth have attended our events, with 98% of attendees leaving feeling more positive about their LGBTQIA+ identity.

For most young people it’s their first time meeting like-minded people and truly being themselves – and 75% of attendees report making a new friend at a Minus18 events.

We offer peer support to LGBTQIA+ youth through articles, interviews and video content, so young people are able to access free help online no matter what part of Australia they’re from – or the support they have from school or families.

Since 2011, more than 2.5 million people, including families, schools and workplaces, have accessed our free online articles.

Whether it’s at school, a health service, or in a workplace, LGBTQIA+ people should feel safe. Minus18 LGBTQIA+ workshops and training empower the whole community to champion inclusivity.

Along with providing up to date education, proceeds from professional training bookings also help to make LGBTQIA+ workshops more accessible to schools and community organisations all over Australia.

Since 2011, more than 19,000 people have participated in Minus18 LGBTQIA+ workshops and training.

Our experienced workshop facilitators head into schools and youth organisations to empower young people – LGBTQIA+ and allies alike – to stand up to discrimination and support each other.

Using a fun, engaging and informative approach, we equip classrooms and small groups with the language and knowledge needed to champion inclusivity.

Supporting LGBTQIA+ people, educating the wider community, and standing up to discrimination is an Australia-wide responsibility – and we need your help!

Our campaigns empower the whole community to drive LGBTQIA+ awareness and support young people in Australia. We work with some amazing businesses, schools and community groups to reach all parts of the country.

The Minus18 store is filled with rainbows – for you to show your personal pride, to be a visible LGBTQIA+ ally at work, or to support queer youth at your school. Every sticker, school resource, office pride pack, and rainbow lanyard is designed in Melbourne, and packed by our youth volunteers.

And the best bit: every purchase 100% of proceeds go straight back to supporting LGBTQIA+ youth at Minus18.

Minus18 is a company limited by guarantee (CLG) incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001, a charity registered with the ACNC, and a Public Benevolent Institution endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient by the ATO.

All members of the Minus18 Board and Staff hold current Working With Children Checks.

Find out more:

• The Minus18 Board
• Minus18 Constitution
• Annual & Financial Reports

The access and inclusion of the diverse range of identities within the LGBTQIA+ community is an incredibly important, and deeply held value of Minus18 – our board, our team, our supporters, and young people.

As an organisation, it's our mission to create an Australia free from discrimination for ALL LGBTQIA+ youth.

In our 2020 to 2022 Strategic Plan, we identified a number of communities to prioritise and forge specific strategies to engage and support. As such, we’re developing a range of frameworks and roadmaps to map this work to our team and community.

Read about our Youth Program Access and Inclusion Framework, and check out our roadmap via the link below.

Minus18 was founded in 1998, by mum and LGBTQIA+ champion Nan McGregor. As the proud mum of a gay child herself, Nan recognised that even with a supportive family, LGBTQIA+ young people still faced social isolation – and that it was vital that they could connect with their community and make friends in a safe, positive environment. 

As Minus18 celebrates its 25th anniversary, find out more about our history, our early days, and what the future holds.