Autism Awareness Australia has officially become Autism Association of Australia, supported by a pro bono brand transformation delivered by FutureBrand.
The engagement spanned brand strategy, identity, language and experience, helping the organisation evolve from a brand built around raising awareness of autism to one focused on leading change for the autism community.
As Australia's independent national peak body for autism families, Autism Association of Australia reaches hundreds of thousands of people every year. More than 538,000 Australians visit its website annually, generating over 1.5 million page views. Its newsletter reaches more than 74,000 subscribers, its social media community exceeds 161,000 people, and its webinars attract more than 4,600 registrations each year.
The work comes at an important moment for autism families. According to a 2025 national survey commissioned by the organisation, families raising autistic children continue to face a system that is slow, fragmented and difficult to navigate, leaving many parents exhausted and financially stretched.
The rebrand reflects a broader strategic evolution for the organisation.
When Autism Awareness Australia launched nearly 20 years ago, most Australians had barely heard the word "autism". Today, autism is firmly part of the national conversation.
Diagnosis rates are at record highs, and Australia is navigating the largest NDIS reform in a generation. Against this backdrop, the organisation recognised it had outgrown awareness as its primary purpose. The new name and brand signal a clearer focus on advocacy, action and driving meaningful change for the autism community.
“When we set out to change our name, we needed a partner who would not just design a new logo, but understood why the change mattered. FutureBrand pushed us past ‘awareness’ and helped us find language and an identity that matches the seriousness of the fight ahead for Australian families. Their pro bono support gave us months of strategic and creative work we could never have afforded to buy outright.” - Nicole Rogerson, CEO and Founder of Autism Association of Australia
“As soon as I heard Nicole’s story, it stuck in my mind on two levels - one, her personal story as a family raising an autistic child, and two, her professional story as a leading voice in the autism community striving for comprehensive systemic change. Amidst the complexity of that system, there is a pivotal opportunity for a bolder brand to make a meaningful difference - if awareness is no longer enough, what next? At FutureBrand, we’re committed to creating impact you can feel, and so it makes perfect sense for us to make this ‘pro bono’ investment in order to boost the organisation’s limited resources for an outsized impact.” - Rich Curtis, CEO of FutureBrand in Australia
FutureBrand made a pro bono investment of more than $100,000 into this project to support Autism Association of Australia. The engagement extends FutureBrand's pro bono programmes for the not-for-profit sector. Over the past five years, FutureBrand in Australia has worked on brand projects for a wide range of not-for-profit organisations, investing more than $500,000 in pro bono projects over that period.
