A home for queer South Asians in Melbourne

QSAM

Built by us, for us.

Respect. Inclusion. Equality. Every Day. Everywhere.

Join QSAM Our Story

Our Story

A community that was always here.

QSAM is Melbourne's community for queer people of South Asian heritage: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Afghan, and beyond. We exist because mainstream queer spaces often erase our cultures, and South Asian cultural spaces often erase our queerness. QSAM is the intersection.

We are incorporated under Victorian law (Inc. No. A0125335W, ABN 83 672 343 123) and governed by our elected committee. We are not-for-profit. Everything we do is for our community.

Whether you are newly arrived, still figuring things out, long out and loud, or somewhere in between, this is for you.

100+Members across Victoria

A growing community of queer South Asians, allies, and chosen family right across the state.

2024Established, incorporated November

Formally incorporated as an association under Victorian law, by and for our community.

8+Language communities represented

Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Sinhala, and more, each held with care.

∞Community-led. Always.

Every decision, every event, every dollar is shaped by the people QSAM is for.

🇮🇳
India
🇵🇰
Pakistan
🇧🇩
Bangladesh
🇱🇰
Sri Lanka
🇳🇵
Nepal
🇦🇫
Afghanistan
🇧🇹
Bhutan
🇲🇻
Maldives

Our Board

Meet your QSAM Board, 2025–26.

Following our AGM and expressions of interest process, we are delighted to introduce the QSAM Board for 2025–26. Each profile shares what they bring to QSAM, what they hope to achieve, and the lived experience they contribute to our community's inclusion and purpose.

AM

Aayush Makkar

Secretary · He/him

Community organiser turned Secretary, keeping QSAM's work clear, accountable, and genuinely welcoming to newcomers.

Aayush Makkar
Secretary · He/him

Skills & Experience

Aayush brings hands-on experience in community-facing work, coordinating South Asian events and initiatives during his time as a student in India and in Australia. Through this work he developed strong organisational, communication, and people-management skills, with a particular ability to engage diverse groups of people and create welcoming environments. He is confident working collaboratively and handling responsibilities with professionalism.

Aspirations for QSAM

Aayush joined QSAM because he cares deeply about creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and connected across all parts of their identity. As Secretary, he aims to bring structure and follow-through to the board's work: keeping communications clear, records accurate, and decisions moving. He is particularly keen to support inclusive programming and strengthen outreach to members who are newer to the community.

Inclusion & Community Lens

From India and multilingual (Hindi, English, Punjabi), Aayush's motivation is rooted in advocacy for representation and community. He is drawn to QSAM's role in amplifying voices that are often underrepresented, and sees his role on the board as a direct way to build the kind of intersectional, inclusive space he wishes had existed earlier.

CM

Chrissa Love Mahtani

Treasurer · She/her

A decade in digital and operations, here to sharpen QSAM's voice and keep everything running smoothly.

Chrissa Love Mahtani
Treasurer · She/her

Skills & Experience

Chrissa brings over a decade of experience in digital production, project management, and digital ecosystems. She has a strong track record in communications strategy, content development, event promotion and registration systems, and keeping complex projects on track. Her professional background in digital and operational work translates directly into the practical needs of a volunteer-run NFP.

Aspirations for QSAM

Chrissa wants to help QSAM amplify its voice and run more smoothly. In her EOI, she highlighted a focus on refining QSAM's digital content strategies to grow community engagement, improving the technical side of event promotion and registration, and ensuring QSAM's messaging is consistent, professional, and accessible across all platforms. She also wants to support the board operationally so that members can focus on high-impact programming.

Inclusion & Community Lens

A Desi lesbian who was born in Jakarta and raised across Southeast Asia, Chrissa understands the specific experience of navigating identity, migration, and belonging across multiple cultural landscapes. Her aspiration is to help build an inclusive community that celebrates diverse heritage while providing a genuine safe harbour, particularly for members who are newer to the community or navigating more complex intersections of identity.

Instagram
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Hitesh Dhingra

Creative Director · He

Long-time QSAM volunteer, pastry chef and dancer, bringing our events and visual identity to life.

Hitesh Dhingra
Creative Director · He

Skills & Experience

Hitesh is a long-time QSAM volunteer with direct, practical knowledge of how the organisation operates. He brings skills across event management, finance, and business ownership, a combination that means he understands both the creative and operational sides of what it takes to run successful community programs. His experience as a pastry chef and dancer adds a distinctive creative dimension to his work.

Aspirations for QSAM

Hitesh joined the board because he wants to give back to a community he has been part of for many years. As Creative Director, he will bring QSAM's events and visual identity to life, coordinating activities, shaping the aesthetic of QSAM's presence, and helping with community outreach. He is focused on making QSAM's programs feel vibrant, well-run, and genuinely reflective of who we are.

Inclusion & Community Lens

From India and connected to the Hindi-speaking diaspora, Hitesh's long-standing involvement with QSAM means he brings continuity, community trust, and a deep understanding of what members actually need from their events and experiences. His commitment to showing up over many years is itself a statement about the importance of this space.

Instagram
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Nakul Nigam

President (continuing) · He/him

QSAM's founder, holding the community he built with deep institutional knowledge and steady leadership.

Nakul Nigam
President (continuing) · He/him

Skills & Experience

As QSAM's founder, Nakul brings unmatched institutional knowledge of the organisation: its history, its community, and what it takes to hold this space. He brings leadership experience in building and stewarding a grassroots community organisation from the ground up, navigating the practical and emotional complexities of running an NFP in a culturally specific and LGBTQIA+ context.

Aspirations for QSAM

Nakul's focus for 2025–26 is building on QSAM's foundations with a stronger board behind him: deepening community engagement, expanding QSAM's reach across the South Asian diaspora in Melbourne, and ensuring the organisation's governance and programs continue to reflect its values.

Inclusion & Community Lens

As a queer South Asian in Melbourne, Nakul understands first-hand the importance of intentional, intersectional community spaces. His continued leadership signals stability and continuity to a membership that has grown to rely on QSAM as a genuine home.

PC

Praveen C.

Events Coordinator

Driven by connection, creating events that feel welcoming whether you're a regular or brand new.

Praveen C.
Events Coordinator

Skills & Experience

Praveen brings enthusiasm, community connection, and a genuine commitment to bringing people together. While his EOI was informal, his motivation to join the board was clear: he reached out proactively despite a technical issue with the form, showing initiative and determination to contribute.

Aspirations for QSAM

As Events Coordinator, Praveen's focus will be on creating events that feel welcoming and accessible for all members, whether they are long-time regulars or brand new to the community. He wants QSAM's calendar to be a reason for people to show up and feel at home.

Inclusion & Community Lens

Praveen's aspiration to contribute to QSAM reflects a shared commitment to community and belonging. We look forward to learning more about the specific perspective and experience he will bring to the board as the year gets underway.

ZG

Zara Grewal

Vice-President · She/her

20+ years in systems, governance, and AI, building structures that protect QSAM's people and purpose.

Zara Grewal
Vice-President · She/her

Skills & Experience

Zara brings 20+ years of experience in systems architecture, AI transformation, and organisational governance across APAC. She has scaled consultancies, led enterprise-level delivery projects, and built operational frameworks for both corporate and community-facing organisations. She is also neurodivergent and multilingual (Urdu, Hindi, English, Punjabi, Gujarati), with deep familiarity with how power moves inside institutions: who it protects, who it excludes, and how to design structures that do better.

Aspirations for QSAM

Zara wants to help QSAM grow in a way that protects its people and its purpose long-term. Her priority areas are NFP compliance and governance frameworks, board-level accountability structures, AI and tech governance, community and strategic partnerships, and community-driven initiative design. She sees QSAM as a space that can model what genuinely intersectional, safe, and well-governed community organisations look like.

Inclusion & Community Lens

Queer, Pakistani, Catholic, and an immigrant, Zara has spent her life navigating conditional belonging across religious, cultural, and institutional systems. Her lived experience of religious minority status, migration, queerness, and motherhood isn't background to her work; it is the lens through which she does it. She is particularly motivated to build structures that centre and protect the most marginalised members of our community.

Instagram Website

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We are energised by the talent, lived experience, and commitment this board brings. Together, we look forward to a year of meaningful community building, advocacy, and celebration.

With warmth and pride,
Nakul Nigam and the QSAM Board 2025–26

What We Do

Programs and pillars.

Community Gatherings

Regular meetups, dinners, and social events for the QSAM community across Melbourne. Low-key, welcoming, and always led by community members.

DesiQ Nights

QSAM's nightlife sub-brand. A night for us, by us. Desi music, South Asian aesthetics, queer community energy. "A night for us. By QSAM."

DesiQ 3.0 tickets, 27 June →

Safe Space Support

One-to-one peer connections, mental health resources, and a confidential contact point for community members who need support.

Advocacy and Visibility

IDAHOBIT Day, community submissions, and speaking truth to power as a visible, incorporated queer South Asian organisation in Victoria.

Upcoming Events

Come as you are.

Next Event · DesiQ

DesiQ 3.0

Sat 27 June 2026 · 8PM–4AM · Inflation Nightclub, 60 King St, Melbourne

A night of South Asian queer joy. Safe, inclusive, unapologetic. Desi drag, Bollywood and regional dance, and a dancefloor that finally feels like home. A night for us. By QSAM.

Get tickets Event details Early bird sold out · main release tickets available
July 2026 · Melbourne

Community Dinner

Shared table, shared stories. A warm evening of food and good company, open to all.

Ask about this
17 May · Every year

IDAHOBIT Day Gathering

17 May. Every year. Together. We mark the day with community, reflection, and visibility.

Ask about this
Monthly · Melbourne

New Member Welcome

Newly arrived? Come say hello. A gentle, friendly first step into the QSAM community.

RSVP by email

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Suggest an event

Safe Space

You are held here.

QSAM is a community where your queerness and your South Asian identity are both welcome, without having to choose.

You don't have to explain yourself here.
Every South Asian heritage. Every identity expression. Every story.
If you need support, we are here.

Need to reach us privately?

hello@qsam.org.au

If you are in immediate distress, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or QLife on 1800 184 527.

Membership

Your home. Your community.

Membership is how we stay connected, and how we keep QSAM running. Both tiers give you full community access. The paid tier simply sustains us.

Free Community Member

Join the community, attend events, and receive our updates. No cost.

Supporting Member

$10/month minimum, sliding scale upward. Sustains QSAM operations. Entirely optional, never gatekeeping.

$10

Every dollar goes directly to running QSAM events and programs.

Welcome home. We've opened a ready-to-send email with your details, just press send and we'll welcome you in properly.

Your Voice

Shape our community.

What should QSAM do next? What events do you want to see? What would make this community better for you?

Thank you. We've opened a ready-to-send email with your idea, just press send. Your voice shapes what we do next.
First time at a QSAM event and I finally felt seen. Thank you.— Priya
Can we do a Bollywood movie night? 🎬— Arjun
As a queer Sri Lankan Tamil person, finding QSAM changed everything.— Shan
I'd love a mental health and community support workshop.— Maya
DesiQ was the most fun I've had in Melbourne. More please.— Reza
Brought my partner to dinner and nobody blinked. That's everything.— Nadia

Contact

We're here.

General & Supporthello@qsam.org.au
Eventsevents@qsam.org.au
Mediamedia@qsam.org.au
Board & Governanceboard@qsam.org.au
Instagram@queer_south_asians_melb
LocationMelbourne, Victoria, Australia. Always on the lands of the Kulin Nations.
ResponseWe aim to respond within 5 business days. All messages are held in confidence.
Thanks for reaching out. We've opened a ready-to-send email, just press send and we'll get back to you within 5 business days.