A full-time Sydney Mardi Gras employee asked members of the charity's volunteer network to work unpaid shifts for two commercial LGBTQIA+ festivals while also being paid by one of those events, prompting questions about conflict-of-interest management at one of Australia's most high-profile queer organisations and whether those workers should have been paid employees.

Sydney Mardi Gras board candidate Savanna Peake has been rebuked by the Australian Labor Party for using a party email list to distribute Protect Mardi Gras campaign material, prompting renewed scrutiny over her handling of personal data just days after a university student was outed to her family by a separate mail-out promoting her candidacy.

Sydney Mardi Gras board candidate Savanna Peake has apologised after a university student was outed to her family when one of Peake's campaign flyers arrived at their home – prompting the organisation to review how members' personal details are shared during elections.

Mardi Gras board directors would be forced to suspend their membership of political parties while serving on the organisation's board under a proposal to be debated at this month's annual general meeting.

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has announced a significant financial turnaround, reporting a net surplus of $401,750 for 2025, a substantial improvement from the previous year's deficit of $1,242,774.

Decision-makers touting the ban as a way to protect children fail to understand the importance of online community for LGBTQ+ youth, for whom a reliable and accessible place of support and belonging isn't just ideal – it's lifesaving.