The Federal Government has awarded $10 million to help LGBTIQA+ people find accessible healthcare that is safe, respectful and inclusive.
The program, announced on 3 August, will be delivered by a national consortium of La Trobe University, ACON, Thorne Harbour Health and technology company, Portable.
The national initiative will establish a voluntary training and accreditation program for primary care providers, creating a network of recognised places where LGBTIQA+ people can access healthcare with confidence.
Research undertaken to inform the Federal Government's National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ People 2025-2035 found that many LGBTIQA+ people do not disclose their sexuality or gender identity to their GP even when it is relevant to their care, while others delay or avoid seeking healthcare altogether because they fear they will not be treated respectfully.
Minister for Health Mark Butler said: "Every Australian deserves health care that is safe, accessible, respectful and free from judgement."
The consortium will be led by La Trobe's Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), bringing their nation-leading research on LGBTIQA+ health together with the longstanding expertise of THH and ACON working with communities and providing primary care.
Professor Adam Bourne, Director of ARCSHS, said the program would respond to longstanding evidence that many LGBTIQA+ Australians continued to experience barriers to accessing healthcare, including concerns about discrimination, misunderstanding or a lack of culturally safe care.
The program will develop a nationally recognised framework for inclusive and affirming care, provide subsidised training and capability-building opportunities for healthcare providers, support organisations and individual practitioners to strengthen inclusive practice and establish a searchable national directory of accredited providers.
Unlike one-off awareness initiatives, the program is designed to create sustainable system-wide change through ongoing quality improvement, workforce capability development and nationally consistent accreditation.
"By improving access to inclusive primary care, the program aims to encourage earlier intervention and preventive healthcare, improve health outcomes and help reduce health disparities experienced by LGBTIQA+ communities," Professor Bourne said.
ACON Chief Executive Officer Michael Woodhouse said the initiative reflected the priorities of LGBTIQA+ communities.
"For 40 years, ACON has worked to ensure our communities have access to the information and care they need to live healthy, connected lives. This program responds to our communities' request for more accessible healthcare."
Thorne Harbour Health Chief Executive Officer Chad Hughes said the initiative would help ensure inclusive healthcare is available in every community.
"Thorne Harbour Health has been a trusted provider of inclusive healthcare for LGBTIQA+ communities for decades, but community organisations like us can't be the only place people feel safe accessing care. Everyone should be able to walk into their local GP and trust they'll be treated with dignity and respect, wherever they live.
"The program will help give healthcare providers the confidence, tools and support to deliver affirming care, improving access for our communities across Australia."
Portable Co-founder, Simon Goodrich, said the initiative aligned closely with Portable's purpose and expertise in the health sector.
"Portable is an innovation partner for public good. With over 20 years' experience designing and delivering digital platforms, including many in the health space, we're excited to be a partner in this initiative," Mr Goodrich said.
"We at Portable work at bringing lived experience into the technology we build. We're so looking forward to being part of the impact across health for the LGBTQIA+ community."
The program builds on ARCSHS' national leadership in LGBTIQA+ health research and Rainbow Health Australia's 20 years of experience delivering evidence-based workforce development and sector capability building for inclusive practice.
