‘Ecstatica’ was the theme of this year’s 48th Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, and our staff were thrilled to be part of it, marching alongside their NSW Health colleagues to celebrate joy and inclusion.

NSWHP Direc­tor of Peo­ple & Cul­ture Tam­my Boone and Sarah Miller-Bax­ter from the Roy­al North Shore couri­er team were among thou­sands who turned out for an unfor­get­table night of celebration.

Ecsta­t­i­ca was cho­sen as the fes­ti­val theme to hon­our ‘euphor­ic rebel­lion and a col­li­sion of glam­our, grit, and raw joy that burns brighter when we stand together’.

Around 10,000 peo­ple marched in this year’s parade, and thou­sands more flocked to the streets of Syd­ney to cel­e­brate the joy and inclu­sion that has shaped the event for near­ly five decades.

Sarah says she felt incred­i­bly hon­oured to be march­ing for the first time rep­re­sent­ing NSW Health Pathology.

“I’m march­ing because every­one deserves to be them­selves with­out fear. I’m incred­i­bly proud to rep­re­sent NSW Health who pro­vide the LGBTQIA+ com­mu­ni­ty and its staff with a safe, inclu­sive and judge­ment-free health­care space.

“The courage of those who marched before me allows me to live open­ly today. Whether I’m march­ing in the Mar­di Gras parade or wear­ing my pride lan­yard whist vis­it­ing our hos­pi­tals, col­lec­tion sites and clin­ics across the com­mu­ni­ty, I want peo­ple to know they are safe, seen and accepted.

“It real­ly was quite over­whelm­ing at moments to be sur­round­ed by so much love and sup­port. I still can’t get the smile off my face,” she said.

For Tam­my, march­ing was more than a cel­e­bra­tion, it was a com­mit­ment to vis­i­ble leadership.

“I believe that when lead­ers show up, it sends a pow­er­ful mes­sage that our peo­ple and patients are seen, wel­comed and valued.

“And for me, it’s also deeply per­son­al. I have two teenagers and I want them to always feel proud of who they are and where they come from,” Tam­my said.

Thanks to Sarah and Tam­my for doing us proud at Mar­di Gras 2026 and help­ing to cham­pi­on a cul­ture where every­one feels val­ued and celebrated.

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