How the LGBTIQ+ Community Feel About Australia’s Culture and Values

Are Australia's values shifting with its population?

Inclusive Australia’s Social Inclusion Index for 2021-22 has found the LGBTIQ+ community identify less with typical Australian values, therefore making them feel more excluded.

You’ve probably picked up on the classic Aussie values such as ‘fairness’, ‘tolerance’, ‘respect’ and ‘equal opportunity’, but it seems these are becoming increasingly unrelatable to minority groups around the country.

This represents a steady drop since 2017, when 28 per cent of LGBTIQ+ people reported identifying “very much” with Australia, compared to 18 per cent in late 2021.

Victorian trans woman Amity Mara told SBS News that the notion of getting a “fair go” is more like a false narrative.

She points to hostilities towards transgender people as one example of this—in particular, the recent debate over their participation in gendered sports competitions.

Amity said, “for most queer people, in particular, for trans and gender diverse and brown and black trans and gender diverse people…the idea of a fair go is not our reality.

“Our employment rates are so much lower, the levels of violence we face is so much higher, our ability to access housing is so much lower.”

Alongside the LGBTIQ+ community, the report also found a decline in First Nations peoples, people on low incomes and religious minorities identifying with Australian values.

Australia’s culture is rapidly shifting, particularly as younger generations have their say. What’s yours?

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