Parents, Families & Friends · Tasmania
You don’t have towork this outon your own.
PFLAG Tasmania is a volunteer-led, registered charity that supports parents, families and friends of LGBTIQA+ people, and runs the Cygnet Community Hub: a welcoming drop-in place in the Huon Valley for mental health, wellbeing and practical help.
Illustrative photograph.
Legal statusRegistered charity
RegulatorACNC Register
IncorporatedTAS, IA11831
Based inCygnet, Huon Valley
Who we are
A good place to start a conversation.
PFLAG stands for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Today the people we walk alongside cover every letter of LGBTIQA+, and the families around them. Some parents arrive having just heard their child’s news. Some grandparents want to understand. Some young people need an adult in their corner while their family catches up.
The Tasmanian group has been around since 1993. Our members have ranged in age from 20 to 92, and we have met over the years in Hobart, Cygnet, Launceston, Burnie, Devonport and on the East Coast. We are part of a worldwide PFLAG movement that grew from parents who decided to stand beside their children.
From our home in the front rooms of the Cygnet Town Hall, we also run the Cygnet Community Hub: a drop-in centre where anyone in the Huon Valley can come for a cuppa, a chat, food relief, a lift to an appointment, or a gentle connection to the right health service.
“There are lots of parents who are coming to terms with it slowly. It’s a good place to start a conversation.”
What we do
Health promotion, built on kindness and practical help.
01
Family support
Peer support and conversations for parents, families and friends of LGBTIQA+ people, including families of young people who are transitioning.
02
Mental health & suicide prevention
A drop-in space for wellbeing, timely support, counselling and referral to health services.
03
Food relief & garden
Food relief backed by a community garden, so low-income locals have fresh food close to home.
04
Transport, events & connection
Lifts to appointments for people on the isolated side of the Huon River, community events and “social prescribing”: linking people with activities and services that help them feel part of things again.
Photographs are illustrative. To protect privacy, we do not publish photos of the people we support.
Our journey
Three decades of showing up.
The milestones below come from our public record with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and from local press coverage.
- 1993
PFLAG TAS is established
The organisation is formally established on 10 August 1993, giving Tasmanian parents, families and friends of LGBTIQA+ people a place to turn.
- 2016
Tasmanian Human Rights Award
Governor Kate Warner presents PFLAG Tasmania with the LGBTI Award at the Tasmanian Human Rights Awards, recognising our work helping parents and friends build resilience.
- 2018
Masquerade Fundraising Ball
A Masquerade Fundraising Ball brings the Cygnet community together in support of the Cygnet Community Hub.
- 2022
Food relief, counselling and transport
The Hub runs as a drop-in centre for mental health wellness and suicide prevention, with food relief, a community garden, transport and referrals.
- Today
Around 25 volunteers
Volunteers, supported by a small part-time and casual team, keep the doors open and the kettle on for anyone who walks in.
For parents
Your child told you. Now what?
Feeling surprised, worried or unsure is normal, and it doesn’t make you a bad parent. Our volunteers include parents who have been exactly where you are. We won’t judge you, and we won’t rush you.
Ways to help
Be part of a kinder Tasmania.
Volunteer at the Hub
Welcome visitors, help in the garden, drive someone to an appointment or help run an event.
Volunteer with usBecome a member
Join the association, come to the AGM and help shape what PFLAG Tasmania does next.
Join usBe a visible ally
Invite us to speak at your school, workplace or club, and share this site with a family who needs it.
Spread the wordReach out
Start with one conversation.
There is no donation page here. If you are a parent, a grandparent, a friend or a young person who needs someone to listen, the best first step is simply to get in touch.