About acronyms
When referring to non-heterosexual populations and trans and gender diverse people, our preferred acronym is LGBTIQA+. This acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex, queer, questioning and asexual people.
We know there are many communities within this population, and when referring to LGBTIQA+ communities as a whole, we use this respectful collective address.
Find out about small and large events happening for LGBTIQA+ communities in the City of Melbourne.
Victoria's premier three-week LGBTQIA+ arts and cultural festival celebrates diversity and inclusion. It takes place in January and February across the city and is principally sponsored by City of Melbourne.
Melbourne Queer Film Festival External link
A showcase for contemporary queer cinema from Australia and beyond. The largest queer film festival in the southern hemisphere screens in cinemas across Melbourne.
The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia calls on everyone to stand against discrimination and support our LGBTIQA+ mates, colleagues and families. IDAHOBIT takes place on 17 May.
YIRRAMBOI festival External link
YIRRAMBOI festival platforms the interconnectedness and diversity of First Nations creatives, locally, nationally and internationally.
The Melbourne Awards are the City of Melbourne’s highest accolade, celebrating the inspirational Melburnians and promoting their work. One of the eight key areas is an LGBTIQA+ category, which is judged by members of the LGBTIQA+ community. The 2024 winner was Queer Town External link.
In 2023 Young Melburnian of the Year was Georgie Stone OAM, an actress and an advocate for trans and gender diverse children and youth.
Melbourne's best drag shows and queer-friendly venues External link
Head to What’s On Melbourne to discover fabulous and inclusive events in the city.
We’re proud to provide and support a range of initiatives for our diverse LGBTIQA+ communities living, working, studying in or visiting the City of Melbourne.
Guide to Melbourne for LGBTIQA+ folk
Everyone should be able to bring their whole selves into the city. Use this guide to see how we support diversity and inclusion in the City of Melbourne for LGBTIQA+ communities.
If you represent a community organisation that provides a great service for LGBTIQA+ communities, you may be eligible to receive funding as part of our various grant programs.
City of Melbourne libraries provide a safe and welcoming space for LGBTIQA+ community members and groups to meet and run events, as well as delivering events directly for the community. These include:
- Trans and gender diverse writing group
- Queer Book Club
- Melbourne History Talks: Queer history in Melbourne
- Queer Reads and IDAHOBIT reading lists.
- Trans and disabled peer support group.
Have fun and discover something new at one of our great events.
LGBTI+ services for older people
Discover the events and services that the City of Melbourne facilitates specifically for older members of our LGBTIQA+ community.
Playgroups offer children the opportunity to learn through play and socialise with other children. We offer a range of playgroups across our family services locations, including a dedicated playgroup for LGBTIQA+ parents.
As well as offering a range of health and wellbeing services, queerspace offers professional development for organisations who work with LGBTIQ+ people and their families.
The Q-Fit Program at Carlton Baths offers small group, queer-friendly fitness training with the aim to create a safe space and friendly environment for the LGBTIQA+ community, with the aim of making fitness more accessible.
Victorian Pride Centre External link
Celebrate and protect equality in this centre, which brings the Victorian LGBTIQA+ communities together in a single space.
Inclusive language guide External link
A handy guide that provides advice on the appropriate language to use when working with LGBTIQA+ communities. Developed by the Department of Premier and Cabinet for the Victorian public sector.
Switchboard Victoria External link
Switchboard offers peer-driven support services for LGBTIQA+ people, their families and allies, and counselling through its partner QLife. For older LGBTIQA+ people, Switchboard’s Out and About program supports intergenerational connection by connecting people with a friendly visitor.
queerspace is an LGBTIQA+ health and wellbeing support service that offers counselling, peer support and professional development for organisations who work with LGBTIQA+ people and their families.
Thorne Harbour Health External link
Australia’s oldest LGBTI health organisation and Victoria’s largest, Thorne Harbour Health in South Yarra offers a growing range of health services and programs aimed at various LGBTIQA+ communities.
As a leading organisation for a leading city, we foster a workplace that is inclusive, safe and respectful. We strive to nurture a culture of individuality, diversity and belonging, which means offering support to our LGBTIQA+ communities and staff.
Pride Network and Pride Executive Committee
Our Pride Network launched in 2018. It brings together LGBTIQA+ employees and their allies who speak up so that people can bring their whole selves to work.
The group began informally a year earlier, during the national debate on marriage equality. It was a difficult time for LGBTIQA+ staff and allies, and the focus of the network at that time was to provide support. During this time, Council expressed firm support of marriage equality and advocated strongly for a ‘yes’ vote.
The Pride Network is an important voice for LGBTIQA+ people and their allies and ensures our workplace continues to be aware and engaged.
The Pride Executive Committee leads the Pride Pledge, which asks all employees (regardless of whether they identify as LGBTIQA+) to commit to speaking out and acting against homophobia, biphobia, intersexism and transphobia, and support their LGBTIQA+ colleagues. The majority of our workforce has taken the pledge so far and LGBTIQA+ awareness training is providing important education and understanding.
The committee also fosters important external partnerships and is actively involved in key initiatives and events, representing us at Midsumma Carnival and marching in the Pride March.
Strategies
City of Melbourne has committed to increasing workplace diversity and inclusion in the Inclusive Melbourne Strategy 2022-32, and the Inclusive Melbourne Action Plan 2024-26 contains targeted actions for LGBTIQA+ communities. Workplace LGBTIQA+ inclusion is also supported by the Gender Equality Act which includes tracking the experiences of staff and equality progress in a workplace audit. Strategies are included in the Gender Equality Action Plan 2022-25.
Pride in Diversity
City of Melbourne is a member of Pride in Diversity, which provides access to a range of services and supports. Each year City of Melbourne utilises:
- specialised LGBTIQA+ training sessions for staff
- access to LGBTIQA+ consultancy to support staff and leaders and workplace inclusion activities
- the Australian Workplace Equality Index survey and assessment to support and track our progress
Gender Impact Assessments
Under the Gender Equality Act, the City of Melbourne is required to complete Gender Impact Assessments on new or revised policies, services or programs that have a direct and significant impact on community. While Gender Impact Assessments are primarily focused on gender equality, they will include LGBTIQA+ community experiences to create better and fairer outcomes and increase equal access to resources and opportunities.
Marriage equality
We were thrilled about the realisation of marriage equality on Thursday 7 December 2017. We actively advocated for marriage equality through this difficult time for our LGBTIQA+ friends and allies.
We supported the campaign for marriage equality well before the plebiscite. Council unanimously resolved in 2015 to support marriage equality and called on the Australian Government to legislate for it. Then in the months leading up to the vote, we campaigned in support of marriage equality.
Victorian Pride Lobby’s Local Council Candidate Pledge
First launched in August 2020, the ‘Local Council Candidate Pledge’ campaign encourages LGBTIQA+ Victorians to stand for council at elections and identifies candidates who are proud to publicly stand for the rights, safety and inclusion of LGBTIQA+ Victorians in their local community. As part of the campaign, candidates are encouraged to commit to the five actions in the ‘Local Council Candidate Pledge’. A summary of the alignment of City of Melbourne’s work to the actions is detailed below.
The City of Melbourne engages and seeks representation of LGBTIQA+ communities in the development and delivery of our services, policies and processes.
When we were developing the Inclusive Melbourne Strategy 2022-32, members of the LGBTIQA+ community told us they want to be consulted and included, be visibly represented and see their lived experience incorporated into how and what Council delivers in the workplace and in community.
Community members also wanted their multiple identities to be considered, through an intersectional approach to inclusion.
City of Melbourne has committed to establishing an LGBTIQA+ advisory committee as part of the Inclusive Melbourne Action Plan 2024-26. The committee will be structured to be inclusive and diverse including in terms of opinion, age, ability, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity and culture.
We are committed to engaging with our diverse communities, including LGBTIQA+ stakeholders, through a range of approaches, to ensure their voice, aspirations and needs continue to be built into our work. This includes targeted community engagement, co-creation opportunities, focus groups, pop-ups and surveys.
As part of this approach, City of Melbourne has started to collect baseline demographics of people involved in public consultation, with the intention to improve representation of target cohorts.
City of Melbourne remains committed to ensuring the aspirations and needs of our diverse communities are key inputs into decision making. We pride ourselves on being a city for all people and we will continue to proactively engage the LGBTIQA+ community through an intersectional, integrated and data-led approach.
Supporting an intersectional approach to inclusion, delivery of LGBTIQA+ initiatives are covered within the Inclusive Melbourne Strategy 2022-32 and the Inclusive Melbourne Action Plan 2024-26.
Targeted actions in the Inclusive Melbourne Action Plan that relate to LGBTIQA+ outcomes include:
- Establish an LGBTIQA+ advisory committee to guide implementation of the actions below, as well as other relevant initiatives and projects, and to inform City of Melbourne’s approach to communication and consultation with LGBTIQA+ people. The committee will be structured to be inclusive and diverse including in terms of opinion, age, ability, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity and culture.
- Develop strategic partnerships with at least three LGBTIQA+ organisations to improve our service delivery, community engagement and ability to respond to emerging issues. Service delivery focus areas will include family and children’s services, youth services and ageing and inclusion services.
- Collaborate with LGBTIQA+ youth to co-design and deliver a project to improve safety and inclusion.
- Explore ways to recognise historically significant LGBTI Melburnians, for example in place naming.
- Establish baselines for current levels of engagement of LGBTIQA+ communities with the City of Melbourne and identify and implement actions to enhance engagement.
The City of Melbourne will continue to embed actions focused on improving LGBTIQA+ outcomes into the Inclusive Melbourne Strategy and its implementation plans.
The City of Melbourne’s protocols for flying of flags at Melbourne Town Hall, North Melbourne Town Hall and Kensington Town Hall, are based on State Government advice, which outlines the Australian, Victorian, the Aboriginal and City of Melbourne flags, are the only permanent arrangement.
Flying specific flags on special commemorative or significant days, for example, United Nations Day, is also governed by advice from the State Government on when this should occur.
To support our commitment to diversity and inclusion, City of Melbourne has a Pride Progress Flag in the foyer of the administration building of Melbourne Town Hall as a permanent inclusion. This signifies to anyone entering the administrative building, that it is a safe and inclusive space. Additionally, Melbourne Town Hall is lit up on days of significance to the LGBTIQA+ community, with the Pride Executive Committee informing the days that are selected.
Following community consultation, City of Melbourne has committed to celebrating and acknowledging historic LGBTI figures instead of installing a rainbow crossing. We're exploring a range of strategies that more directly honour these individuals and their contributions and look forward to sharing more as this project progresses.
City of Melbourne supports Midsumma and a range of LGBTIQA+ festivals and events each year. As part of our support for Midsumma, the Pride Executive Committee organises the participation of staff in the Pride March. Additionally, City of Melbourne works to ensure LGBTIQA+ performers, artists and representation at a wide range of events, festivals and activities.
