A transparent update on why I run the site, what goes into it, and how you can help keep it accurate and sustainable.
It’s been a while since I’ve checked in with an update on Trans.au. I’m writing this to be as transparent as I can about why I run the site, what goes into it, and what it takes to keep a service like this going.
A quick note on capacity
Trans.au is a passion project run by one person (me). So if replies sometimes take a while, or if I miss something, that’s why. A lot of the work is still manual, including processing news articles and adding/updating directory listings.
Who I am (and why Trans.au exists)
Here’s a bit about me, and why I started Trans.au.
Hi, I’m Abbie. I’m the founder of Trans.au. a national directory and news aggregator for trans services and trans-related news from across Australia. I’m a trans woman from regional Victoria. I transitioned in 2019, I struggled to find how to transition and eventually found someone that I knew from years prior that had already transitioned who told me of the only psychologist that was informed in my city. For many folks, there isn’t anyone local.
Eventually, I found r/transgenderau, which was incredibly helpful for finding community and services. But it was hard to keep up to date, and because it lived on a wiki, it didn’t always feel like a reliable source.
This led me to create the map and add as many services as I could so that you can see the services that are local to you. We also have a stack of online services on the directory that may show up as in the middle of the country as they are national services as well.
The directory (and how to submit a service)
Trans.au now has around 550 directory listings, and it’s still growing.
Because I can’t discover every service in every category on my own, I rely on the community. If you know a service that should be listed, please submit it via our form and I’ll do my best to reach out as soon as I can.
One small thing that helps a lot: if you can include an email address for the service when you submit it, it speeds things up enormously. I ask every organisation to verify their details (to keep the directory accurate, and to confirm they’re happy to be listed), so having a direct contact makes that process much faster. It’s not required—just helpful, especially in the “how we can contact you” section.
Costs, tooling, and the behind-the-scenes work
Running the project costs me about $4,000 per year—mostly WordPress plugins, plus hosting and other ongoing expenses. I cover this out of my own income (I’m fortunate to be paid well in my day job), but any support is always appreciated.
Some of the tools I pay for include Gravity Forms, Gravity Kit, newsletters, an aggregator, and more. They help run the maps, forms, newsletters, and news content (much of which comes in via RSS feeds). Even with these tools, a lot is still manual—news needs filtering, form submissions often need cleanup, and I still have to send the initial outreach emails to each submitted organisation.
I also need operational tools like a CRM—because managing communication with 500+ organisations is difficult to do without one. I do all of this alongside a full-time job so I can keep the service free. On top of that, there are email delivery costs; we migrated to AWS because it was the most affordable option when I launched the Protecting Trans Kids campaign last year, with support from the Trans Justice Project.
Where I’d like to take this next
I’d love to register Trans.au as a charity, and I’ve been talking about that for years. But the process is complex and time-consuming, and it also requires maintaining a board (around four people) to handle governance and reporting.
If you’d like to help: submitting missing services (with an email address, if you have one) is hugely valuable. If there’s a way to financially support the project, then you can do so here.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Abbie
Founder of Trans.au
