Family Life International is an Australian company. We are an organisation of ordinary Australians – hard-working staff, dedicated volunteers and loyal supporters – devoted to promoting a Culture of Life.
FLI is at the forefront of the pro-life movement in Australia and has always been known for its “total approach” – opposing the entire anti-life agenda, which includes not only abortion, but also sex education, reproductive technologies, surrogacy, the watering down of marriage, euthanasia, and most critically, contraception.
FLI exists to educate about and advocate for the true facts about the sanctity of life, the beauty of marriage, and the goodness of the family.
FLI is also distinguished by its conviction that a Culture of Life will flourish in Australia not primarily through political efforts, but rather spiritual ones. For this reason FLI has always been proudly devoted to the Catholic Church and her teachings. FLI is well known for its prayer apostolates, such as 40 Days for Life and the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants.
FLI receives no government funding, tax benefits or exemptions; and survives only on the generosity of our large-hearted supporters.
Our Patron is Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart.
Our Story
“All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Family Life International traces its origins to the year 1985, when the attacks on family and life in Australia seemed to be increasing without any apparent restraint. At the time, a small group of lay people in Sydney who were determined to mount a challenge, formed the Australian Catholic Pro-Life Association (ACPLA). They lacked experience and resources, but they had plenty of determination.
They were convinced that the fight for life had to be both spiritual as well as political. Under the patronage of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Joseph they prayed, lobbied politicians and commenced an education program to show that family and life were both sacred and in need of support.
In 1992 two of the founding members of ACPLA, Gail Instance and Bede McDougall, met with the “Apostle of Life”, Father Paul Marx OSB, whose work was said by Blessed Pope John Paul II, to be “the most important work on earth”. With his help and guidance, the local group became a branch of Human Life International (HLI) which was based in the United States of America.
During the 1990s, the Australian branch came to the forefront in the work of supporting family and life in many areas. In a culture that had become indifferent to life and hostile to its defence, HLI became a voice of contradiction embracing wholeheartedly the Gospel of Life.
In 2004, HLI became Family Life International (Australia) Limited. This name change better reflected the apostolate’s identity and work and captured the importance of family which is the unit of society.
