More must be done for displaced people in a new national LGBTIQA+ health plan

New National LGBTIQA+ Health Plan recognises LGBTIQA+ communities, but more must be done for forcibly displaced people

The Forcibly Displaced People Network (FDPN) welcomes the launch of the National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ People 2025–2035 by the Department of Health and Aged Care, under the leadership of Assistant Minister Ged Kearney.

This National Plan is a critical step in recognising LGBTIQA+ communities as priority populations and addressing their needs. It acknowledges the significant disparities in health and wellbeing outcomes for LGBTIQA+ communities, which are not inherent to being LGBTIQA+ but are caused by systemic barriers such as homophobia, transphobia, racism, ableism, harmful beliefs about bodily norms, and structural discrimination.

However, FDPN is deeply concerned by the lack of recognition in the Plan of the impacts of visa and migration status on health outcomes.

Our lived experience and community research clearly show that visa restrictions are a major barrier to accessing services, including in LGBTIQA+ health services that are often tied to Medicare eligibility. Forcibly displaced LGBTIQA+ people remain marginalised within the LGBTIQA+ communities, facing compounded challenges that demand urgent attention.

Key findings from FDPN’s “Inhabiting Two Worlds at Once” report highlight some of these challenges:

• About 27% of LGBTIQA+ forcibly displaced people reported that their overall health worsened after arriving in Australia.
• 12% of participants had not seen a General Practitioner (GP), primarily due to Medicare ineligibility.
• 33% experienced discrimination in the healthcare system.
• 60% of participants experienced violence in Australia. Alarmingly, only 17% sought support after experiencing violence, primarily relying on friends and counselling services

We know of so many instances LGBTIQA+ people seeking asylum, refugees and migrants do not seek medical help fearing that this will negatively affect their visa outcomes.

LGBTIQA+ people seeking asylum, refugees and migrants, and even those LGBTIQA+ people of colour born in Australia are still being seen as not part of ‘mainstream’ LGBTIQA+ communities. They not only experience barriers within systems, but also subjected to racism within LGBTIQA+ communities. To belong, many still do not disclose their migration status in LGBTIQA+ communities.

The commitments of the National Plan could have been strengthened if it integrated mentions of race and migration status, analysed the associated barriers and made specific commitments to inclusion of LGBTIQA+ people seeking asylum, refugees and migrants. The National Plan could have also made better connections to other strategies and recommendations concerning the health of multicultural populations, such as the 2024 Multicultural Framework Review report, Towards Fairness: A Multicultural Australia for All which called for more work in relation to wellbeing, safety and inclusion of LGBTIQA+ multicultural communities.

We do see the importance of the National Plan in providing a framework towards improving health outcomes for LGBTIQA+ communities. We do welcome two specific commitments for diverse communities in the National Plan such as focusing on supporting the growth of LGBTIQA+ community-controlled organisations and reducing barriers to healthcare for migrants.

To strengthen the impact of the National Plan, FDPN calls on the government, LGBTIQA+ organisations, and all stakeholders to recognise the expertise, leadership, and essential role of community-controlled organisations led by diverse communities, such as FDPN—the national LGBTIQA+ refugee-led organisation.

It is vital that the focus on intersectionality, particularly regarding race and migration status, is not only retained but meaningfully championed in all actions. Among many this includes ensuring that:

• the issues of LGBTIQA+ forcibly displaced people are core in the provision of comprehensive and inclusive training for service providers.
• that organisations led by LGBTIQA+ forcibly displaced people are adequately supported.
• that equitable access to health and wellbeing services for all LGBTIQA+ people, regardless of visa or migration status is provided.

FDPN is committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to implement the Plan’s vision of LGBTIQA+ people achieving equitable health and wellbeing outcomes with access to safe, respectful, high-quality and inclusive health and wellbeing services.

Achieving this vision is only possible if LGBTIQA+ forcibly displaced people are meaningfully included.