LGBTQIA+ community
The City of Perth LGBTQIA+ Plan and Advisory Group was endorsed by Council in 2020 and the City continues to actively evolve in this space.
LGBTQIA+ Plan
The City of Perth Council adopted the LGBTQIA+ Plan 2021-2024 at the October 2021 Ordinary Council Meeting.
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About the LGBTQIA+ Plan
The three-year plan will focus on the City of Perth’s role as a service provider, partner and facilitator in increasing the visibility, social inclusion and health and wellbeing of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The plan outlines actions in seven key areas:
- Safety
- Education
- Homelessness
- Healthcare
- Organisational Capability
- Welcoming and Accessible Services and
- Visibility.
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Community Consultation
More than 500 consultations occurred between March and April to better understand the experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community in Perth, as well as the Council's role as a local government in improving the wellbeing of the community. We have heard hundreds of voices and many stories.
The Stakeholder Engagement Outcomes Report outlines what we’ve learnt from the community and demonstrates that there are opportunities to improve the safety, visibility, social inclusion, health and wellbeing of the LGBTQIA+ community in the city.
In response to the community feedback, the City of Perth has developed a three-year draft plan, dedicated to improving the experience of LGBTQIA+ people in the city. The draft plan was endorsed by Council at the 27 July 2021 Council Meeting.
The draft plan was open for community review during August.
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Documents
Resources
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Articles
International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia 2021 (13 May 2021)
Learn more about Bisexual Visibility Day with Duc Dau (20 Sept 2021)
Learn more about Asexual Awareness Week with Cyan from headspace (22 Oct 2021)
Learn more about Intersex Awareness Day with Michelle from Intersex Peer Support Australia (22 Oct 2021)
City of Perth Council adopt three-year LGBTQIA Plan (27 Oct 2021)
How to be an LGBTQIA+ ally beyond Pride Month (5 Nov 2021)
City of Perth supports Pride WA (26 Nov 2021)
Pride flag hangs proudly outside Council House (14 Dec 2021)
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Guides
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History
1971: One of Australia’s first gay rights activist groups, Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP), established.
1973: Australian Medical Association removes homosexuality from its list of illnesses and disorders.
1974: Homosexual Counselling and Information Service of WA was established. Following several name changes over the years (Gay Counselling Service of WA , Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service of WA, Gay and Lesbian Community Services of WA) the service is now known as Living Proud.
1975: Connections Nightclub opens and eventually becomes the longest running LGBTQIA+ nightclub in the southern hemisphere.
1983: AIDS Council forms in WA following the first recorded Australian death from HIV/AIDS.
1984: Sex Discrimination Act 1984 passes which prohibits discrimination based on sex, marital or relationship status, sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status, among other things.
1989: First march for rights held, with the “89ers” marching to the steps of Parliament House.
1990: WA decriminalises consensual sex between two males.
1997: Giz Watson, first openly out lesbian parliamentarian elected to WA Legislative Council.
1998: Brian Grieg, first openly out LGBTQIA+ Federal Senator, representing Western Australia.
2002: Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Act 2002 passes in WA, the first significant passage of legislation protecting and supporting the rights of LGBTIQA+ people in WA. This Act:
- Equalises the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual sex acts;
- Allows recognition of same-sex couples de facto status;
- Allows same-sex couples to adopt;
- Allows same-sex couples to access assistive reproductive technology and both names can be added to the birth certificate; and
- Makes it unlawful to discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation in the areas of employment, education, accommodation and the provision of goods, services and facilities.
2008: WA abolishes the gay panic defence.
2011: Federal Government passes passport legislation allowing for an 'x' gender option, and the ability for transgender people to select their gender without medical intervention.
2013: Federal Government legislates an amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act making it unlawful to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. Religious schools and hospitals are exempt.
2017: Australia votes ‘yes’ to make same-sex marriage legal, with 61.6% in favour. 71.5% of the Perth Federal Electorate votes ‘yes’.
2018: WA passes a bill expunging historical homosexual convictions. Premier Mark McGowan formally apologises to the LGBTQIA+ community for the anti-homosexuality laws of the past.
2019: WA Legislative Council passes Gender Reassignment Amendment Bill 2018, which removed a requirement for a person to be single in order to be eligible for a gender recognition certificate (which is needed to alter the record of someone's sex on their birth certificate), ending the 'forced divorce' of couples.
2019: WA's first LGBTQI health strategy (WA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex (LGBTI) Health Strategy 2019 – 2024) is released.
2021: City of Perth establishes LGBTQIA+ Advisory Group, the first of its kind at local government level in WA.
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Podcasts
Inaugural LGBTQIA+ Advisory Group
An Advisory Group has been established to guide the City in its growth as a diverse, equitable and inclusive organisation which represents all members of the community. The Group will provide a forum for consultation, feedback and discussion on diversity, equity and inclusion for LGBTQIA+ people in the City of Perth.
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Meet the LGBTQIA+ Advisory Group
Individual Members
- Alyce Schotte
- Steve Wellard
- Caro Duca
- Clint Woolly
- Curtis Ward
- Jane Armstrong
- Kedy Kristal
- Scott Telfer
- William Knox
Organisational members
- Bi+ Community Perth
- Perth Inner City Youth Service (PICYS)
- Pride WA
