Since its creation, TransHub aimed to mirror how trans, and gender diverse people had been getting their information for years; through word-of-mouth recommendations and written forums published by trans people themselves.
Trans and gender diverse is an umbrella term, describing people whose gender is different from what was presumed for them at birth. Trans and gender diverse also describes a community who have often had to pioneer their own solutions and have not always had reliable and trustworthy information about their health, rights and safety within Australia.
TransHub was launched on March 31, 2020, and has served as a platform where trans and gender diverse communities, allies, and healthcare providers can access trusted, NSW-specific information on gender affirmation, rights, and healthcare. This includes information on changing your name and/or gender marker, finding a doctor who can help or even the awkward process of coming out to loved ones and finding friends who support them.
Original Wireframe, developed by Liz Duk-Chong, Mish Pony and Teddy Cook in 2019.
Website Launch, 2020.
It became clear very early on that trans-specific information was important to users outside of NSW as well. To date, TransHub has been visited by people from over 100 countries, with 65.5% of visitors hailing from an Australian IP address. Within Australia, TransHub has reached community members in every state and territory, with the majority of visitors coming from NSW (43% of Australian visits), Victoria (23%), and Queensland (14%).
With the TransHub National Expansion we are now able to expand its relevance and accessibility to meet the needs of trans and gender diverse people across all Australian states and territories.
How many trans people are there in Australia and what is their history?
International estimates of trans populations sit between 0.5% to 4.5% – suggesting that there could be more than one million trans adults in Australia. A recent report from Noah Riseman (2022) shows the storied and complicated path towards the state of trans advocacy and healthcare today.
This report also demonstrates how trans communities have been pioneers within Australia; breaking down gendered expectations and contributing to many areas of health, including harm reduction, the 1980’s HIV/AIDS response, sex work advocacy, reproductive health and the development of the Australian peer-to-peer health model.
What new content will be available on TransHub?
New TransHub content will cover changing name and gender marker in each state and territory, interactions with police, information for incarcerated trans and gender diverse people, legal affirmation and more.
The goal of our National Expansion Project has been to employ trans and gender diverse staff from across Australia who bring a wealth of local insights and connections. The ACON Trans Health Equity team are working with trans and LGBTQ+ led organisations and trans peer writers in every state and territory. This team of writers have been able to create new content that reflects the healthcare, legal, and social landscapes of each state and territory.
The platform of TransHub will also be redesigned to fit the growing needs of trans communities, as well as insights from our team across the last five (5) years of this work.
What’s next?
New content will be launched in 2025.For now, keep an eye out on our social media (Instagram) or our website for more updates.
Final words:
We are beyond grateful to the work from the ACON First Nations team, Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council (NTAHC), SHINE SA, South Australia, Transgender Victoria, A Gender Agenda and Meridian, ACT, TransFolk of WA, Western Australia, Queensland Council for LGBTI Health (QC), Working It Out, Tasmania and many, many more from our professional advisory committee who have been instrumental in developing this new content.
We would also like to thank the TPG Telecom Foundation, who are funding this National Expansion.
We stand on the shoulders of so many who have come before will continue to benefit from the work of those who will follow. Our team hopes that TransHub will continue to empower trans people across all of Australia to live full and euphoric lives.