'Just Listen Properly, Like with Intent': LGBTIQ+ Tasmanians: Telling us the Story

While many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) people live full and happy lives, prejudice, discrimination, and barriers to wellbeing continue. Tasmania has made significant progress in affirming the rights and dignity of LGBTIQ+ people, going from having some of the nation’s most discriminatory laws to leading the way for equity and inclusion in Australia. However, LGBTIQ+ people’s poorer mental and physical health, high rates of victimisation to violence and abuse, and reduced educational and economic outcomes are well-documented and persist internationally and in Australia. The need to address these disparities more comprehensively is being increasingly acknowledged in Tasmania and is supported by national and local research.

This project aimed to collect the most up-to-date information about LGBTIQ+ people’s experiences of Tasmanian Government services and life in Tasmania overall to inform the Department of Communities’ LGBTIQ+ Strategic Framework and Action Plan. Through extensive community consultation and collaboration with key stakeholders, State Government departments, and non-government organisations, we conducted the largest ever survey of LGBTIQ+ people in Tasmania, followed by online interviews and focus groups.