Twin clubs in Australia: how AMBA and local groups help
The national body, the local clubs and the practical support that gets twin families through the early years.
Who AMBA is
When two arrive at once, the usual parenting advice only stretches so far. That is where the Australian Multiple Birth Association comes in. AMBA is the national charitable support organisation for families with twins and multiples, and it has been doing this work since it was founded in 1974. It is a network built by twin parents, for twin parents, and it runs through local clubs in every state and territory.
The national body sets the direction, but the day-to-day support lives in those clubs. They are close to home, staffed largely by volunteers who have been through it themselves, and open to expectant parents as much as to families who are already deep in the newborn fog.
What local clubs do
A local AMBA club is part support group, part practical resource. Most run information sessions for new and expectant parents, playgroups where the children have others their own age and stage, and social events that turn a fairly isolating experience into a shared one. Alongside the community side, many clubs also run equipment hire and buy-swap-sell of pre-loved gear, which is where a lot of the real financial relief happens.
That trade matters because twin gear is expensive and specific. Double prams, second cots, twin feeding pillows and two of nearly everything add up fast, and clubs have long been a way to hire or hand on the bulky, short-lived items rather than buy them new. Lhoop sits alongside that, not in place of it. It is one more way to find and pass on the twin-specific gear that clubs already trade, useful between meet-ups or when the item you need is not in your local hire pool.
Multiple Birth Awareness Week
Once a year, AMBA runs Multiple Birth Awareness Week, a national awareness week held each year from the third to the fourth Sunday of March, moved earlier when it clashes with Easter. It is a good moment to connect with other twin families, whether that means turning up to a club event for the first time or simply reading along and realising how many households are in exactly the same boat.
A gentle way in
If joining a club feels like a lot right now, Awareness Week is a low-stakes first step. Follow along, go to one event, and see whether the community fits before committing to anything.
How to find your nearest club
AMBA keeps a ClubFinder that lists clubs by location, so you can see which one covers your area and how to reach it. It is the fastest way to find out where your nearest group meets, what it offers, and when. Reaching out before the babies arrive is worth it, because the information sessions and the hire pool are most useful in the weeks you are still preparing.
Community plus practical support is how twin parents get through the expensive early years. Pre-loved is part of that, whether it comes through a local club's buy-swap-sell or through Lhoop. Both keep good gear moving between families, and both mean spending less on things your two will outgrow together in a matter of months.
References
Details of what each club offers vary by location, so check your local club via ClubFinder for its current sessions, hire pool and events.
- Australian Multiple Birth Association (national multiple-birth charity, founded 1974).
- Australian Multiple Birth Association, ClubFinder (local clubs, equipment hire and buy-swap-sell).
- Australian Multiple Birth Association, Multiple Birth Awareness Week
Related reading
Twin gear, passed on
Find the double prams, second cots and twin essentials pre-loved, then hand them on when your two move past them.
Shop the marketplace