Discrimination in faith-based schools
1. Victorian, ACT and Tasmanian laws currently protect LGBTIQ+ students, staff and clients from discrimination in faith-based schools and services.
Q. Will you vote for an amendment to the federal Sex Discrimination Act to provide similar protections nationally?
Suicide and Mental health
2. National studies show LGBTIQ+ people continue to experience higher than average rates of mental health issues and suicide ideation due to stigma and discrimination.
Q: Do you support the development of a national LGBTIQ+ mental health and suicide strategy?
Inclusive schools
3. National studies show young LGBTIQ+ Tasmanians still experience above average levels of bullying and discrimination in schools.
Q: Do you support more funding to reduce levels of bullying and discrimination against LGBTIQ+ school students?
The Census
4. The National Census does not collect the kind of data about LGBTIQ+ Australians that is required to set funding priorities in health and community services. The Australian Bureau of Statistics supports asking questions about sex, gender, variations of sex characteristics and sexual orientation.
Q: Do you support adding these questions to the Census?
Gender affirmation and Medicare
5. Gender affirming treatment is not covered by Medicare and more mental health resources are needed by trans and gender diverse people.
Q: Do you support Medicare covering gender affirming treatments and boosting the mental health resources for trans and gender diverse people?
Gender affirming birth certificates
6. At the moment in some Australian jurisdictions some citizens must have costly, unnecessary and potentially risky surgery and sterilisation to change the gender on their birth certificate, while in others all that’s required is a signed gender registration form.
7. Do you support Tasmania's gold-standard legislation for gender-affirming birth certificates to be applied nationally?
Intersex surgeries
8. Children with innate variations of sex characteristics are still being subject to non-consenting and medically unnecessary interventions to "normalise" their sex characteristics. The Australian Human Rights Commission has recommended a ban on such medical interventions.
Q: Do you support nationally-consistent legislation to protect the human rights of children with innate variations of sex characteristics in medical settings?
Q: Will you support resourcing for community-based peer and family support in place of these harmful surgical practices?
Discrimination in the workplace
9. People who are intersex, trans or gender diverse cannot lodge complaints of workplace discrimination in a clear, efficient and cost-effective way.
Q: Will you support amending the Fair Work Act so it explicitly protects intersex, trans and gender diverse people from discrimination in the same way as the Sex Discrimination Act?
Discrimination in sport
10. Senator Claire Chandler has introduced a Bill that would allow transgender women and girls to be excluded from women's sport, despite existing provisions working well for many years and no sporting code asking for such legislation.
Q: Will you vote against this Bill and speak out against the exclusion of trans and gender diverse people?
Blood donation
11. The UK, France and other countries have dropped their ban on gay and trans people donating blood. Instead, they assess all donors for individual risk.
Q: Do you support a similar policy being adopted in Australia?
Conversion practices
12. Conversion practices on LGBTIQ+ people are still occurring with only three states passing bans, some less effective than others.
Q: Do you support high national standards for banning conversion practices on LGBTIQ+ people including coverage of informal and religious settings, and criminal penalties?
Community / government relations
13. There is no formal liaison between the LGBTIQ+ community and the Federal Government.
Q: Do you support the establishment of LGBTIQA+ reference groups in relevant government agencies including health, education and foreign affairs?
National strategies
14. Affected groups within the LGBTIQA+ community have identified the following strategies as important to them.
Q: Do you support these strategies?
Aged-care strategy (elderly LGBTIQ+ people)
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse strategy (LGBTIQA+ people from CALD backgrounds)
Homelessness strategy (LGBTIQA+ young people and those living in rural areas)
Indigenous Australian strategy (first Nations LGBTIQA+ people).
National family violence prevention strategy for LGBTIQA+ people and their families (LGBTIQA+ allies, Indigenous and CALD people)
Bisexual people
15. Bisexual Australians remain invisible and their needs often are unmet. The following priority was ranked 1st by both bi respondents and all respondents.
Q: Do you support a national public education strategy in relation to Bi+ issues to raise awareness and address specific issues faced by bisexual people among the general population and service providers, and within the LGBTIQA+ communities.
Asexual and aromantic people
16. Asexual and aromantic Australians are often ignored and their needs sidelined. The following priority was rated 1st.
Q:Do you support information about asexuality should be included in sex education at school?
LGBTIQA+ people with disability
17. LGBTIQA+ people with a disability are too often ignored and discriminated against within the LGBTIQA+ and the disability communities. The following priority was identified by LGBTIQA+ people with a disability.
Q: Do you support further training of disability workers, including health care and NDIS staff, on the issues facing LGBTIQA+ people with disability?