Autism Awareness Australia is now Autism Association of Australia.

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Same team. Same mission. The same unyielding determination we have always had. But a name that finally reflects what we are here to do - not just raise awareness of autism, but lead the change every autistic Australian and their family deserves.

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This is why we changed. What it means. And what has not changed at all.

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More than 18 years of showing up

We started Autism Awareness with the straightforward belief that every autistic Australian and their family deserves better. Better information. Better support. A louder, more credible voice in the rooms where decisions get made.

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For nearly 20 years, we built on that. Today, more than 538,000 Australians use our website every year, generating over 1.5 million page views. Our newsletter reaches more than 74,000 subscribers. Our community across social media exceeds 161,000 people. We deliver more than 4,600 webinar registrations a year.

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Our programs work at real scale. Autism: What Next? supports more than 48,500 new users annually through the hardest early stretch: developmental concerns, assessment, and the diagnosis pathway. Navigating Autism - in the Early Years trained more than 24,000 early childhood educators in its first 18 months. These are not pilots. They are national initiatives, Commonwealth-funded and proven.

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We have presented at the United Nations. We have sat beside families navigating systems that make everything harder than it needs to be. And we have stood in front of policymakers and told them the truth, backed by evidence and lived experience.

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The name Autism Awareness Australia supported all of that. We are grateful for what it helped us to build, and we are proud of every bit of it.

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But names are not just labels. They are promises. And we had outgrown ours.

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The problem with awareness

When we started out, awareness was exactly what Australia needed. Most Australians had heard the word "autism" but had little idea what it meant, how common it was, or what it asked of autistic people and their families every day. 

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That has changed. Today, autism is part of the national conversation. Diagnosis rates are at historic highs. Schools, workplaces, and healthcare systems are being asked to do more. Australia has committed to a National Autism Strategy. And the NDIS is undergoing the most significant reform in a generation.

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Australia knows autism exists.

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What has not changed is that autistic Australians still face significant barriers in education, employment, healthcare, and community life. Families still fight for diagnoses. For NDIS funding that actually meets their needs. For a school system that includes their child from day one. Autistic adults still find that too many services were not built with them in mind.

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Awareness did not fix that. Because awareness, on its own, was never enough.

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From awareness to action

The shift from "Awareness" to "Association" is not accidental or cosmetic. It is a declaration.

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An association acts. It advocates. It holds systems to account. It brings people together with a shared purpose. It is not a charity asking for sympathy. It is a peak body demanding change.

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Autism Association of Australia is the independent national peak body for autism families in this country. We turn up for all of autism, for all of Australia. That means every autistic person, at every life stage, in every community, from every background. It means their families and carers, the educators, clinicians, and employers who support them, and the governments and policymakers who shape the systems they live inside.

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"Association" says we are a collective. That this community has a national voice. That we are not observers of the autism experience in Australia. We are in it, all the way.

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What has not changed

Our mission is unchanged. We exist to improve the lives of all autistic Australians and the families who love them.

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The team has not changed. The evidence-based information and resources have not changed. The partnerships, the media presence, the unmatched national reach — unchanged. Our commitment to independence has not changed. Our refusal to sugarcoat what is broken has not changed.

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If you have used our resources, trusted our information, or been part of our community, you are still welcome here. More than that, you are who we are here for.

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"I started this organisation because my son Jack needed the world to understand autism. Awareness was the right place to begin. But it was only ever the beginning. Almost 20 years on, the community we serve has outgrown that word. Honestly, so have we. Autism Association of Australia is who we are now - a national peak body that turns up for all of autism, and goes all the way. For every family that needs us to."

‍— Nicole Rogerson, CEO and Founder, Autism Association of Australia

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What is new

Our name: Autism Association of Australia.

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Our logo: Bold, direct, and designed to reflect the confidence and clarity of who we are now.

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Our domain: autismaustralia.org.au. The site moves from autismawareness.com.au to autismaustralia.org.au. All existing links redirect automatically, so you will not lose access to any content or resources.

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Our ambition: A national peak body that does not sit on the sidelines. We are everywhere that autism exists, from the corridors of parliament, our website, in social media and the press for Australian families everywhere. We are running webinars, producing content and participating in Senate inquiries pushing for systemic reform. That is what all the way looks like in practice.

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Frequently asked questions

What happened to Autism Awareness Australia? Autism Awareness Australia has rebranded to Autism Association of Australia. The organisation, its team, its mission, and all its resources are unchanged. The new website is at autismaustralia.org.au.

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Why did Autism Awareness Australia change its name? The organisation changed its name to reflect its role as a national independent peak body. The word "association" better represents what AAA does - active advocacy, systemic change, and genuine representation of the entire autism community across Australia. Awareness was the starting point. It was never meant to be the destination.

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What is Autism Association of Australia? Autism Association of Australia is Australia's independent national peak body for autism. Founded in 2007 as Autism Awareness Australia, it provides evidence-based information, education, advocacy, and resources for autistic people, their families, carers, and the sector. It represents autistic Australians at every life stage, from early diagnosis through to ageing.

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Is Autism Association of Australia a government body? No. Autism Association of Australia is an independent, not-for-profit organisation. It is not government-funded or controlled. Its independence is central to its ability to speak truthfully and without conflict of interest on behalf of the autism community.

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What is the difference between autism awareness and autism association? Awareness is about knowing something exists. Association is about acting on that knowledge, together. The name change reflects a deliberate shift from an organisation that raised awareness to one that leads systemic change on behalf of all autistic Australians and their families.

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Who is the national peak body for autism in Australia? Autism Association of Australia is the national independent peak body for autism in Australia. It advocates for autistic people and their families across all life stages and drives systemic change at federal and state levels.

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Will my bookmarks and saved links still work? Yes. All autismawareness.com.au URLs redirect automatically to autismaustralia.org.au. No content has been removed.
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Where to from here

Awareness was the beginning.

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For nearly 20 years it opened doors, changed minds, and built a community that genuinely cares. We are proud of every bit of it.

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But there are doors that still need opening. Families are still fighting. And systems that still need to change.

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Autism Association of Australia is here.

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And we are in it, all the way.