The organisation known today as Open Family Australia was informally founded in 1978.
- In 1978 Father Bob Maguire and Brother Alex McDonald founded Open Family.
- In 1981 Open Family Foundation was established as a charitable organisation and an unincorporated association.
- On 6 March 1984 Open Family Foundation Incorporated was incorporated in Victoria.
- On 1 September 1992 Open Family (Australia) Incorporated was incorporated as an association in the ACT.
- On 2 December 1992 Open Family Foundation Incorporated changed its name to Open Family (Victoria) Incorporated.
- On 7 November 2005 Open Family (Australia) Incorporated became a Registered Australian Body with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
- In December 2006, after 28 years of service, Father Bob Maguire retired from Open Family (Australia) to pursue his own Foundation.
- On 6 September 2007 Open Family Australia became registered as a public company limited by guarantee.
- On 1 December 2011 Open Family Australia merged with like-minded youth organisation Whitelion.
Mum and I were fighting all the time and it wasn’t a happy place for me anymore. I had told Mum that one of her relatives had sexually abused me. I don’t know why but she didn’t believe me. I think that is what hurt me the most – I’m her daughter and she is supposed to protect me but when I finally got up the courage to tell her what had been going on, she turned her back on me.
Open Family Australia, in partnership with Goodman Fielder, has established a mobile food service called NOSH in 
In 2007, Open Family Australia secured funding through the Property Industry Foundation for the refurbishment and fit out for a mobile youth outreach service for Sydney. Recognising that Sydney's CBD is well catered for by other agencies, Open Family Australia decided to launch this service into Sydney's western suburbs, frequenting hot spots in the Warwick Farm, Liverpool and Fairfield regions. 
The Melbourne Chatterbox operates three nights a week in Melbourne's CBD and inner suburbs. The service is manned by a team of volunteers headed up by Open Family Australia's Volunteer Coordinator and The Chatterbox Volunteer Committee. The service has been operational in Melbourne since 2002 and is proudly supported by Cabrini Health and PFD Foods.
Open Family Australia provides outreach support and services to young people who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. We work in Victoria and NSW, providing Assertive Outreach to vulnerable young people in their communities. 