Our performance

Starlight program reach

Starlight’s Vision is for everyone to experience a happy childhood.

Happiness in childhood is a strong determinant as to how you will perform in your education, employment and with long term healthy life behaviours. Children who are seriously ill have their ability to be happy significantly impacted and, at Starlight, we believe Happiness Matters.

2023 has been a year of continued growth. In fact, Starlight created over 1.9 million positive Starlight experiences, which is an increase of +48% compared to the previous year.

What we do is simple yet so powerful. Starlight brightens the lives of seriously ill children and young people in the darkest of times, bringing moments of fun, laughter, and joy when and where it is needed.

All we do at Starlight is supported by our fundraising and in 2023 we experienced growth of +22.5% versus 2022. This is an exceptional result and would not be possible donors, community supporters and corporate partners inspired by our impact.

It seems the more we do the more we need to do as clinicians consider new and innovative ways the power of positive psychology can impact health outcomes.

As an essential service, Starlight worked closely with health professionals to reach sick kids when and where they needed happiness most. From supporting socially isolated young people through Livewire Online, having Captain Starlight transform the hospital experience in every children’s hospital to playing an important role in immunisation/vaccination clinics.

Our programs which Transform & Connect more than tripled their reach vs 2022. This is a result of the lifting of “in hospital” restrictions which were implemented during Covid as well as organic program growth including in Starlight’s Rocket Rounds, Captain's on Call, Starlight Moments and Starlight's Healthier Futures Initiative.

Starlight’s national support of seriously ill children via our Entertainment channels has continued to efficiently scale.

At year end there were 634 seriously ill children waiting for their unique Starlight Wish to be granted.

Amplifying our impact

In 2023 we saw an increase in the number of positive Starlight experiences created of +48% compared to the previous year.

There was an increased demand from clinicians for Starlight’s Captains on Call program, where the joy of Captain Starlight is a powerful distraction from the pain of clinical treatment. And our Livewire program continued to transform the lives of teens in hospital, including in mental health units where we provide social connection and create opportunities for peer support.

Starlight’s Healthier Futures Initiative played a key role in positively engaging children with healthcare in remote communities. Increasing healthcare participation rates is incredibly important for a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children can experience improved health outcomes and be able to flourish.

Our Starlight Express Rooms, in every Children’s hospital, provide a much-needed haven for sick kids and their families to connect and have fun. To forget, even if just for a moment, where they are and why.

Planet Starlight enables sick kids to connect virtually with Captain Starlight for fun, laughter and joy. This wonderful innovation is rolling out across Australia with kids able to join in anytime, anywhere.

Recognising the unimaginable challenges faced by families with a child at home palliative care, Starlight partners with Palliative Care teams creating moments of connection and joy which are unique for each child and family. Starlight Moments creates experiences to lift the spirits of these children and families.

We are committed to understanding and improving the impact of our Starlight programs and to achieve this we invest in research to ensure what we do continues to be effective and efficient.

Our Social Return on Investment (SROI) is calculated as delivering over $5 of community value for every dollar we spend in hospital and online.

2023 Income & expenses

In 2023, Starlight's fundraising income was $48.4m, an increase of 16% year on year showing with strong growth across most areas of fundraising.

2023 Program spend

Program spend increased in 2023. We finished the year with 634 children waiting for their Starlight Wish to be granted. This equates to over $4.7m of Program spend.

We received $3, 314, 213 total value of donated goods and services used in program delivery.

This includes:

• Toys, games and art supplies from amazing partners like LEGO Australia, Amazon Australia, Cleverpatch, EB Games/Zing Pop Culture, Mattel and Hasbro for our Starlight Express Rooms and Livewire Programs.

• Support for Starlight Wishes and Wish Week from Virgin Australia, Hamilton Island & Village Roadshow Theme Parks.

• Support for our Spark Accelerator team from The Walt Disney Company for movie subscriptions and mini movie theatres for our Starlight Express Rooms and fun Merchandise for Movie Moments.

Funding our capital projects

As new children’s hospitals are built or redeveloped there is a need for Starlight to build new Starlight Express Rooms in each hospital location. These Starlight Express Rooms require capital funding, which is incremental to our annual core operational expenditure and is raised through specific capital campaigns.

In 2023 work commenced on a new Starlight Connection Space in the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children. This new space provides flexibility for multiple uses including quiet zones for younger children and their families, art and creative activities, play therapy, gaming experiences, a parent’s area and upgrades to the outdoor terrace.

A new Starlight Express Room at Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick will be opening in 2025. Our new Starlight Express Room will be filled with an abundance of natural light and will boast a fabulous balcony complete with outdoor kitchen and discovery play area.