Laws need to be free from discrimination and reflect us if we are to have safe and inclusive communities.
Our first year of actions lays the foundations for an equal society, but we know that there is more work to do. We have strengthened legal protections for LGBTIQA+ Victorians and are ensuring we create laws with an equity lens.
We are improving justice and policing responses so LGBTIQA+ people receive fair treatment
- We set up a specialist legal service at the Victorian Pride Centre. The service is for LGBTIQA+ Victorians who experience discrimination and disadvantage based on their sexuality or gender identity.
- We released the Victoria Police workforce diversity and inclusion framework 2023–2030 and the LGBTIQA+ inclusion action plan 2023–24. These aim to create more inclusive workplaces and a better future for LGBTIQA+ Victorians.
- We provided access to LGBTIQA+ awareness and sensitivity training for Victoria Police staff. We developed this with Thorne Harbour Health.
- We established a Trans and Gender Diverse Group as part of the Victoria Police LGBTIQA+ Portfolio Reference Group. It will focus on the needs of trans and gender diverse communities within policing.
We are reforming laws to ensure equal rights for LGBTIQA+ people
- We narrowed religious exceptions through the Equal Opportunity (Religious Exceptions) Amendment Act 2021. We did this in consultation with LGBTIQA+ communities, along with their tireless advocacy. Religious bodies and schools must now better protect LGBTIQA+ students, teachers and staff.
- We narrowed religious exceptions for religious bodies that provide government-funded goods and services. They can no longer discriminate when providing goods or services because of a person’s sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. The lived experience of LGBTIQA+ communities informed these changes.
- We introduced the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021. The Act features new criminal offences and a civil response scheme. This is an important step. It will help prevent and respond to the damage and trauma caused by change or suppression practices for LGBTIQA+ Victorians.
- These reforms mean we are progressing equality and addressing the discrimination LGBTIQA+ Victorians experience.
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