About Us
Singlehood is on the rise, and Singlehood Australia is igniting the social, cultural, and economic transformation required to include single people in the heart of all decision-making.
OUR STORY: In 2020 Victorian lockdown restrictions denied bubble buddies to those living alone. Simultaneously, Australian research by Myra Hamilton and colleagues revealed the financial insecurity of older single women without children, and the Royal Commission into Ageing's Final Report labelled the aged care system a 'shocking tale of neglect', and 'a cruel and harmful system'. These events compelled our CEO, DonnaWard, to draw Asst. Min. Kearney’s attention to the challenges faced by those living on one income in an economy reliant on a dual income household to cover basic living costs, and a society which unwittingly overlooks single people.
Ass. Min. Kearney held a meeting in her electorate where single women shared stories of the financial challenges of managing a home and their lives on a single income. They spoke of housing insecurity, inequitable treatment at work, the unrecognized care they provide family members, the lack of informal support they receive in their lives, the barriers to accessing health and social services, and their invisibility in the tax system. In short, how invisible single men and women are in public policy, at work, in their neighbourhood, and within their families.
This inspired Donna Ward to gather a talented group of directors to establish Singlehood Australia with the intention to educate, raise awareness, and promote public debate on singlehood. In December 2024, Singlehood Australia became a Company Limited by Guarantee, and a registered Charity in April 2025.
Our Vision: We imagine a world where not one single person is discriminated against or vilified due to their relationship or parental status, even when that status is signified by absence.
Singlehood Australia values a society that respects the diverse expressions of singlehood, includes the challenges presented by all relationship and parental statuses and their intersection with gender, sexuality, cultural and religious background, age, and physical, emotional and mental abilities. We believe in fairness achieved through both equity and equality, and work toward a society in which everyone experiences an unwavering sense of belonging, and is empowered to champion social justice through positive, solution-focussed approaches.
While Singlehood Australia is dedicated to achieving policy change that achieves social inclusion and economic equality for single Australians, we operate within an international context. To this end we host the International Singlehood Advocates Network which seeks the adoption of singlehood conventions and charters by the European Union and the United Nations.
