People with Disability Australia at the 2026 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for visibility, self expression and community.
Tuesday 3 March
The PWDA 2026 pride campaign theme InFocus: Queer & Disabled is all about celebration, pride and visibility. Its about allowing LGBTQIA+ people with disability to have their time in the spotlight. A place where we can be our full authentic selves.
This Saturday 28 February, PWDA members joined our float and put their authentic, queer and disabled selves on display as we marched, rolled, motored and sashayed up Oxford Street with pride.
PWDA is a proud recipient of a Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Grant supported by Canva.
Photo gallery: PWDA at Mardi Gras 2026
Check out our photo gallery to relive the joy and pride with a selection from our fabulous photographer Sarah… and more to come!!
More photos from the night!
Visibility is a start, but change is structural
InFocus is also about recognition, leadership and structural change.
LGBTQIA+ people with disability continue to face discrimination in healthcare, employment, housing and support systems. Those barriers are not accidental. They are built into the way systems operate.
Visibility on its own does not dismantle discrimination. Nearly two thirds of LGBTQIA+ people with disability in our national survey experience discrimination because of who they are. Sixty-five per cent reported discrimination from healthcare workers, support workers, carers or family members. Sixty-four per cent said they had not been believed or had their identity ignored. What feels personal is in fact structural.
Whether you missed the parade on the night, want to see if from a different perspective or just can’t get enough. Catch up now by watching the broadcast on ABC iView(PWDA come onto screen around 31:10) or watch on YouTube.
Watch PWDA march on YouTube
What does the theme InFocus:Queer & Disabled mean to you?
PWDA members and community have been sharing what the theme InFocus means to them through our digital storytelling campaign.
InFocus means I do not have to shrink. I can show up as all of who I am, without apology.
PWDA member Rory Keyes
InFocus is about centring queer disabled leadership and creating systems that reflect how people, like me, actually live. Pride should not end at the parade. It should carry through into policy decisions, funding priorities and accountability.
PWDA Acting CEO Megan Spindler-Smith
I’ve waited my whole life for social outlets that celebrate queerness and disability together. It’s only recently I’ve seen this shift start to occur.
PWDA member Finn
InFocus to me means learning to take up space and not being apologetic for showing up as our authentic selves
PWDA member Shannon
..not having to ‘put on a show’ to mask or hide the fatigue or being overwhelmed in public is a huge relief.
PWDA member Mandy
Pride is about joy and visibility, but it’s also about belonging. It’s about creating spaces where LGBTQIA+ people with disability feel safe to show up as their whole selves.
PWDA President Jeramy Hope
InFocus is about belonging and putting our community front and centre.
PWDA staff Tracie
It’s about having spaces where we are being seen and accepted as our full authentic selves.
PWDA staff Kylie
The InFocus: Queer & Disabled campaign continues throughout February and March through a national digital storytelling series amplifying the experiences and expertise of queer and disabled voices.
