The Australian Men's Health Forum (AMHF) has published a report highlighting the success of International Men’s Day (IMD), held on 19th November. The report provides a snapshot of the events, initiatives, campaigns, and acts of support that marked the celebration of IMD across Australia in 2025. 

For AMHF, this was the culmination of eight years of hard work, which included contributions from numerous stakeholders. In 2017, AMHF took on the role of coordinating International Men’s Day (IMD) in Australia, at the invitation of the day’s founder, Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, from Trinidad and Tobago.

At that time, IMD did not enjoy broad support in Australia. A motion tabled in the New South Wales parliament questioned “the utility of International Men’s Day” and key advocates for the day were frequently labelled homophobic and anti-feminist, with one commentator lamenting: “Australian men are decent, funny, caring and strong. What a pity their cause is being misrepresented by these people.”

Even if the criticism had some validity, it did not fairly represent the diversity of initiatives and organisations that have celebrated and promoted IMD in Australia since the early 2000s (and in at least one case, the 1990s).

AMHF's CEO, Glen Poole, said:

"Our first job, upon becoming Australia’s IMD co-ordinator, was to signal unequivocally that the day was for everyone. We adopted the diversity and equality statement developed by the IMD co-ordinators in the UK and endorsed by Dr Teelucksingh in 2011. This stated that IMD “places a focus on that which unites humanity, giving everyone who wants to celebrate International Men’s Day the opportunity to work together towards the day’s six key objectives, which apply equally to all males irrespective of their age, ability, social background, legal status, race, beliefs, sexual orientation or gender identity”.

The key word here is “everyone”. International Men’s Day is an annual platform for everyone who wants to take part in a global conversation about manhood, masculinity, and men’s issues. It is not limited to any group, activity, issue, or viewpoint. Yes, there are shared aims and objectives,
but there are diverse ways to get involved and support the day.

For nearly 20 years, IMD’s harshest critic was an Australian academic who published an open letter urging everyone to boycott the day. This year,
that same academic took part in an IMD event, declaring, “These days I’m more open to IMD’s positive potential.” AMHF takes great pride in stewarding IMD’s growth in Australia over the past eight years, but we do not take the credit.

The credit goes to everyone – every individual and organisation – who takes action to promote, support, and celebrate International Men’s Day in Australia.

Download Report: AMHF International Men's Day Report 2025(pdf)