40 Years of Make-A-Wish Australia

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Make-A-Wish® Australia.

From our humble beginnings at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Medical Centre, we started with one simple question: “If you could wish for anything, what would it be?” Forty years and more than 11,000 life-changing wishes later, that question still inspires everything we do. Every day, we encourage kids to dream big, imagine boldly, and embrace possibility and hope, bringing smiles to faces during life’s toughest moments through the power of a wish.

Anniversaries are an important time to reflect and to celebrate the people who make it all possible.

Our heartfelt thanks go to our extraordinary volunteers: more than 850 passionate individuals, aged 18 to 94, who give their time and energy to support Make-A-Wish in more than 52 local communities around Australia. We also celebrate our growing online volunteer community who today help us meet kids and families where they’re at in new and meaningful ways.

To our incredible supporters, partners, and Make-A-Wish friends - thank you for your unwavering kindness and generosity. As an organisation that receives no government funding, we rely on your goodwill, donations, and legacy gifts to make wishes possible. We’re deeply grateful to everyone who has stood with us over the past 40 years and to those who continue to give so generously. Your support, along with the commitment of our long-term partners, gives us the certainty to plan and deliver our program.

As we look to the future, we know there is so much more we can do. In Australia today, more than 14,000 children are living with a life-threatening illness.* Around 1 in 20 of these kids could be part of our wish program at any one time. And for every wish granted, two new families could apply - families facing the news of a life-changing diagnosis. With your help, we can make sure these wishes, and those of many more critically ill children, are granted sooner.

For 40 years, we’ve seen first-hand the lasting impact of a wish. We’re deeply grateful to our former wish recipients and families who continue to share their stories so generously to inspire others to give, so that more children can experience the power of a wish. In the months ahead, we look forward to sharing some of these special reflections from the past 40 years. These memories put into perspective why wishes matter and why, as the world changes, kindness remains one of life’s most precious gifts.

On behalf of the entire Make-A-Wish Australia team – thank you to everyone who has helped us make wishes possible over the last 40 years. And, to the 943 wish kids who are currently on their Wish Journey, hope is on its way.

Sally Bateman & Melinda Geertz

*Source: Bowers AP. (2022) Estimate of the number of children aged 3 to 17 years with a life-limiting condition in Australia. Figure estimated using data obtained under a Public Health Act granted for Bowers AP. Planning for paediatric palliative care services in Queensland: Characteristics, demographics and health needs of children and young people with life-limiting conditions [unpublished PhD thesis]. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology; 2020. Contact ap.bowers@qut.edu.au for further information.