Family Planning Australia celebrated International Women’s Day with the first seminar from our Sexual Health + Seminar series, with guest speaker Wendy McCarthy AC on 4th March, 2026.
Wendy is a former FPA board and staff member, and a renowned Australian activist and businesswoman who has worked for reform across the public, private and community sectors, in education, family planning, human rights, public health, and overseas aid and development.
Wendy shared with dignitaries and staff that the organisation had “changed the rules for all of us”.
“Family Planning Australia opened its doors in 1926, launched the nation’s first birth control clinic in 1933 and brought the Pill to Australia in 1961. These advances were happening at a time when birth control, abortion and reproductive rights were not part of the daily conversation,” Wendy said. “Family Planning Australia never shied away from starting the tough conversations and finding ways to provide people with the care they needed.”
Wendy reflected on her time at FPA and the organisation’s achievements throughout the years with humour and nostalgia. Many of these initiatives happened at a time when reproductive and sexual health were not openly or widely discussed in society. Some of the major achievements include:
- launching Australia’s first birth control clinic in 1933
- introducing the Pill to Australia in 1961
- the rise of reproductive and sexual health (RSH) community education programs
- FPA’s informative RSH films for the community
- the decriminalisation of Abortion in 2019
Family Planning Australia has been at the forefront of our nation’s journey into sexual health, women’s rights and reproductive education.
