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Invitations are open for organisations to submit a tender for an important project focused on supporting LGBTIQ+ individuals with disability. This initiative aims to address the unique needs and challenges faced by this intersectional community and to promote inclusivity, accessibility, and empowerment. 

The 2025 Australian federal election will be held on Saturday 3 May to elect members of the 48th Parliament of Australia. All seats of the House of Representatives and 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate will be contested.

During the election campaign, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) seeks commitment from candidates across the political spectrum to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for LGBTIQ+ people.

Click here to read the full information kit.

Terence Humphreys, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Director of LGBTIQ+ Health Australia was recently featured in QNews' October issue speaking on the ways LGBTIQ+ people are disproportionately impacted by poor mental health.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) has joined other leading mental health organisations in signing a joint statement promoting for evidence-based improvements to online safety. Australia’s leading mental health organisations believe the proposed social media ban will risk cutting young people across Australia off from mental health support, exposing them to new harms and leaving many without any support.

The Silver Rainbow program has assisted with the creation of these resources which provide guidance and activities to support connection with an LGBT+ person living with dementia overtime.

Their development was led by Dr. Louisa Smith at Deakin University and co-designed with six people who had visited LGBT+ people living with dementia over an extended period of time.

A central aim of these resources is that they will become a record of a growing friendship, and provide a useful tool to look back on as someone’s dementia changes.

Please find them below.

The term trans and gender diverse describes people whose gender differs from what was presumed for them at birth (sometimes referred to as “assigned at birth”).

Palliative care provides quality of life and comfort for someone who has a life-limiting illness and is expected to die.

Language is inclusive when we use words in ways that show our respect for how people describe their own relationships, genders and bodies. It is important to show this respect even when describing people who are not present.

The World Health Organisation defines elder abuse as something that happens where there is a relationship of trust between an older person and another person, and the other person does something that causes harm or distress to the older person.

LGBT older people are more likely to experience social isolation and loneliness because they are often separated from their family of origin.

Intersex refers to people who are born with sex characteristics that don’t fit medical norms for female or male bodies. There are around 30-40 different types of intersex variations recognised by doctors, as well as other types of physical diversity that fit this definition.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) attacks the immune system, and if left untreated, can make it harder for the body to fight infections and related diseases.

A ‘family of choice’ (or ‘chosen family’) is a group of people who are chosen by a person to be their family. They often include partners, ex-partners and close friends.

For many LGBT older people, their life experience as an LGBT person is important to them and a big part of who they are. It is often overlooked when they get diagnosed with dementia.

LGBT older people receiving aged care services may hide their true selves. This may be because they fear experiencing discrimination and that their unique needs will not be understood.

Rainbow Realities was launched on Tuesday 9 April at LGBTIQ+ Health Australia's 12th Health in Difference Conference in Canberra by The Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Aged Care.

The Australian Federal Budget for 2024-2025 will be put to Parliament in May. 

This year’s LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) submission focuses on work underway by the Federal Government to develop an LGBTIQA+ Health and Wellbeing 10-Year National Action. The Action Plan is expected to be complete later in 2024.  

Join us for a groundbreaking webinar as we delve into Australian aged care reforms following the Royal Commission, focusing on how they can positively impact the lives of LGBTI older people. Will they deliver a future of inclusivity, respect and personalised support?

Cancer Council Australia invited submissions on their update to the National Cervical Screening Program Guidelines. The revision marks a comprehensive update, examining new evidence to ensure the Guidelines are as up to date as possible.

The Australian Department of Health and Ageing’s Medical Services Advisory Committee are considering an application to improve access to multidisciplinary gender affirming care.

LHA acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, their diversity, histories and knowledge and their continuing connections to land and community. We pay our respects to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and their cultures, and to Elders of past and present. 

The Australian Government aims to “place older people in Australia at the centre of regulation, increasing protections and empowering them to exercise their rights in the context of a reformed and improved aged care system.”  LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) supports this aim and is seeking practical strategies to achieve it for older LGBTI people.  

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) today called for urgent responses across Australia on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other sexuality, gender, and bodily diverse people’s (LGBTQ+) mental health, responding to new mental health and wellbeing data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2020-2022 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing (Study).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is consulting on topics for the next National Census in 2026.

Current data collection does not adequately count LGBTIQ+ populations. This results in a lack of data to monitor and report on national strategies, and insufficient data for targeted policy development, service delivery and resource allocation.

LHA recognises the value of developing the Funding Principles to guide funding decisions as aged care reforms progress. 

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) is calling for immediate action to increase the personal safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and other diverse sexually orientated (LGB+) 1 women in response to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showing LGB+ women experience sexual
violence at a rate of more than four times higher than heterosexual women.

The Australian Government aims to “place older people in Australia at the centre of regulation, increasing protections and empowering them to exercise their rights in the context of a reformed and improved aged care system.”  LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) supports this aim and is seeking practical strategies to achieve it for older LGBTI people.  

On 6 May 2023 the LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) Board of Governance convened a face-to-face meeting on Gadigal Land, Sydney. At this meeting, the Board of Governance discussed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is consulting ahead of the 2026 Census on needed information that is not currently collected. The exclusion of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status questions means a lack of essential data for evidenced-based LBGTIQ+ health and wellbeing policies and programs.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia welcomes the important insights and recommendations from the nation’s largest survey into attitudes around gendered violence released today.

LHA provided comments to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee into Universal Access to Reproductive and Sexual Healthcare.

The Department of Health Ageing consulted on the 10-year draft National Dementia Action Plan. LHA supports the Plan’s aim of putting people living with dementia, their families, and carers at the centre of all action on dementia.

Over recent years, Australia has responded to significant public health emergencies, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government is establishing an Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to improve ongoing response to these emergencies.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) welcomes the Budget investment in Australia’s health and wellbeing, and has called on the Government to show a clear vision to address the significant disparities in health outcomes in LGBTIQ+ health.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia recently conducted a Scoping Review that looked at the existing literature on palliative and end-of-life care for LGBTIQ+ communities from 2016-2020.

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) is calling on news media to prioritise the voices of trans and gender diverse people and experts in the coverage of the International Swimming Federation’s (FINA) disappointing decision to exclude trans women from elite women’s competitions.

The Leadership in Action: LGBTIQ+ Suicide Prevention Forum, 12 & 13 May 2022, is a community-focused forum that brings together key MindOut stakeholders to discuss various types of leadership in Australian LGBTIQ+ suicide prevention. 

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA) welcomes the investment in the 2022-23 Federal budget that will improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians and continues to call for specific funding measures to directly address LGBTIQ+ health priorities.

Does your community know about advanced care planning?  If someone you work with became seriously ill or was injured, would they trust that medical professionals know what care they want or who they nominate as their preferred decision-makers?

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) are developing training, peer support and mentoring activities for LGBTIQ+ people with disability. The training aims to improve your knowledge and skills in advocacy and storytelling. 

LGBTIQ Health Australia (LHA) is deeply saddened to hear of the recent passing of Aunty Vanessa, Noongar Sistergirl of the Kaneang people in Western Australia.

With an ambition to bring the latest in LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing policy to the forefront of the national discussion, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, national peak health organisation in Australia for organisations and individuals that provide health-related programs, services and research focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people and other sexuality and gender diverse (LGBTIQ+) people and communities and JOY 94.9 have launched a brand-new podcast today.

This forum will focus on exactly what we need to do to ensure LGBTIQ+ people live fulfilling lives into old age. Outcomes will include recommendations for the Silver Rainbow program and will suggest topics for the development of policy. 

Expressions of Interest are now closed - thank you for your interest and stay tuned to find out more. If you have applied, someone from MindOut will be in contact soon, even if your application was unsuccessful.

MindOut Australia is redesigning it’s LGBTIQ+ Mental Health & Suicide Prevention eModule with lived experience voices at the centre of it!

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is seeking applicants to conduct a review and update of MindOut's training offerings.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is seeking an Evaluation Recommendation-Implementation Consultant to assist QLife in the implementation of recommendations from its 2019-2021 evaluation. 

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is seeking a Digital Mental Health Standards Consultant to assist QLife in assessing and implementing the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards (NSQDMH).

The Australian Human Rights Commission has released a new report which makes significant recommendations to protect the human rights of people born with variations in sex characteristics. 

Stop leaving LGBTIQ+ people out and count us in! 

Analysis: Final Report of Inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence: a snapshot of where LHA recommendations have been adopted and where there is still work to be done.

14 July is International Non-Binary Peoples Day! We celebrate those who are non-binary, the rich diversity of gender and celebrate people who do not fit into a binary gender.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia in association with The National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA), is calling for Expressions of Interest to join a Roundtable to seek insight from DPO’s (Disabled People Organisations) and the lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ people with disability to inform what would be useful to include in the training to support effective skills-building content and a peer support and mentoring program.

From 20 -26 June we will celebrate Refugee Week with the theme of 'Unity'.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia welcomes the investments announced last night as part of the Federal Budget 2021-2022 that touch the lives of LGBTIQ+ Australians.

The 5th LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Conference delegates call for action in an official 2021 Conference Communique.

The 11th Health In Difference Conference Conference delegates call for action in an official 2021 Conference Communique.

Fri 28 May is LGBTQ* Domestic Violence Awareness Day.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia in association with The National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA), is calling for Expressions of Interest to form a Co-Design Group to help with designing a training, peer support and mentoring program aimed at building the individual and collective capacity of LGBTIQ people with a disability.

Actions to be taken following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety Final Report: Care Dignity and Respect

Lesbian visibility is crucial to health and wellbeing.

Lesbian Visibility Day, celebrated annually on April 26, serves as a day to honour, support, and uplift the voices, histories, and experiences of lesbians. In recent years a week-long observance has emerged, aiming to raise awareness about the unique challenges faced by lesbians within both the broader LGBTIQ+ community and society as a whole.

Influential international panel of guests join upcoming 11th Health In Difference conference and the 5th LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care conference.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual event occurring on 31 March dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, as well as a celebration of their contributions to society.

We're excited to announce many of the speakers and panels scheduled for the upcoming 11th Health In Difference conference and the 5th LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care conference.

We are currently seeking expressions of interest for a content review and update of our LGBTIQ+ Mental Health and Suicide Prevention E-Module.

Julie McCrossin AM moderates a diverse panel of members from the Rainbow community as they explore the particular characteristics and vulnerabilities of older LGBTQIA+ people and talk about real life examples of elder abuse in their community.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is held annually on 20 November to commemorate trans and gender diverse people who have been murdered as the result of transphobia. TDoR was started in 1999 by Rita Hester and is now preceded by Transgender Week of Visibility from 13-19 November.

We're calling for expressions of interest from consultancies to review the current Silver Rainbow training package for the purpose of further building on this important adult learning tool.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, welcomes the federal government’s attention on the mental health and suicide risks of LGBTI people.

The National LGBTI Health Alliance* (the Alliance), remains frustrated that next year’s Census will not include questions on sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status, despite a national consensus for this data to be collected.

26 Oct is Intersex Awareness Day - and we're supporting two new resources; an Inclusion Guide To Respecting People With Intersex Variations and Raising The Bar How To Be An Intersex Ally.

The National LGBTI Health Alliance is currently developing its next National LGBTI Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Strategy. 

The National Suicide Prevention Taskforce has partnered with the Expert Advisory Group and the Suicide Prevention Research Fund to commission research that will help to build a better understanding about the lived experience of suicide in Australia to inform recommendations to government.

World Mental Health Day is on Saturday 10 October, and the whole of October is Mental Health Month. That means you can plan 31 days of activities to look after your mental health and wellbeing.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia is currently seeking a project partner to undertake the delivery of the Silver Rainbow Ageing and Aged Care sub-contract for New South Wales (NSW) for 2020 - 2022.

To help you learn more about the Alliance and the way we work, we'd like you to meet our team and various community members. Firstly, let us introduce Daniel Comensoli. 

We know Victorians are hurting right now. Our Victorian communities and members we stand with you. 

New office location, now in Pyrmont.

We have developed the #LGBTIHealthPledge to promote LGBTI inclusive principles and to ensure that LGBTI people are able to access safe, culturally appropriate and affirmative care during this challenging time.

We're really excited to reveal our new website - now being beta tested. And we'd love your feedback. 

We know that this is a challenging time for every person. There are particular challenges in our communities, and LGBTIQ+ Health Australia would like offer support in a meaningful way. 

The National LGBTI Health Alliance has prepared the following letter template for Members, which calls for the meaningful inclusion of LGBTI people in the 2021 Census.

WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ‘LGBTI’ COMMUNITIES?

This page provides a very brief timeline of LGBTI ageing & aged care in Australia. We acknowledge those who have worked for decades towards the gains that we are beginning to see today.

The provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition. Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS – Mental Health Terms of Reference 2017.

As part of the committee’s inquiry into the implementation, performance and governance of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the committee will inquire into the provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition.

LGBTIQ+ Health Australia's Constitution 2022