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Foreign Policy 

Australia has the opportunity to better support LGBTIQ+ people in the Asia Pacific region and globally by:

  1. Funding LGBTIQ+ community groups in our region to help prevent legal and social stigma and discrimination 
  2. Championing LGBTIQ+ rights in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy
  3. Including LGBTIQ+ people in Australia’s overseas development assistance

In the lead-up to Sydney WorldPride 2023, Equality Australia and the Global Philanthropy Project (GPP) built a coalition of Asia and Pacific regional partner organisations to advocate for greater action by the Australian Government on LGBTIQ+ rights overseas. Together, we launched the Partnering with Pride report and engaged intensively with DFAT and the Foreign Minister’s Office.

The coalition released a major report:

Partnering with Pride: The case for Australian action on equality in our region. 

Download The Full Report

During the Sydney WorldPride Human Rights Conference, the Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong announced a package of reforms that responded to the calls to action in the report.     

  • An Inclusion and Equality Fund with an initial $3.5 million in 2022-23 to support LGBTQIA+ civil society organisations and human rights defenders, international partnerships and networks in Asia and the Pacific.
  • A dedicated LGBTQIA+ human rights engagement strategy for the region including bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, development and humanitarian assistance.
  • The first ever Human Rights Ambassador to lead Australia’s advocacy for LGBTQIA+ equality, supported by the Ambassador for Gender Equality. 
  • An LGBTQIA+ unit within DFAT.    

Equality Australia is continuing to work with our Asia and Pacific regional LGBTQIA+ networks and GPP on the implementation of these initiatives and to increase support and funding over time.