Queer and LGBTQIA+ community support services in Australia

We all need support sometimes, and the queer community is no exception. 

In fact, LGBTQIA+ people often face additional mental stress due to experiencing stigma, discrimination and abuse on the basis of being different.

This can be exacerbated when issues affecting LGBTQIA+ people, like religious discrimination and transgender rights, are front page news, and people's identities and human rights become the topic of public debate.

Research from LGBTIQ+ Health Australia shows that LGBTIA+ young people are five times more likely than the general population to attempt suicide. Trans people are nearly 15 times more likely. 

Fortunately help is out there.

Our friends at ABCQueer have compiled this list of national and state-based support services relevant to LGBTQIA+ people, their families and friends.

Please note: Services and operating hours may have changed due to coronavirus physical distancing measures. Please refer to each organisation's website for the most up-to-date information.

Urgent help (24/7 services)

• Lifeline — 13 11 14
• Kids Helpline — 1800 551 800
• Emergency — 000 

National

• Qlife — Australia-wide anonymous and free LGBTI peer support for people wanting to talk about sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships. Call 1800 184 527 or webchat at qlife.org.au (3pm-12am AEST).
• Minus 18 — Resources help and guidance for Australia's LGBTIQ youth.
• LGBTIQ+ Health Australia — The national peak health organisation in Australia for organisations and individuals that provide health-related programs, services and research focused on LGBTIQ+ people and communities. 
• Black Rainbow — Australia's leading Indigenous suicide prevention and mental health support source for LGBTQ+ people.
• PFLAG Australia — A national organisation that supports parents and families of LGBTQIA+ children of all ages.
• Trans Pride Australia — Social and support group for trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones.
• Transcend Australia — National peer support network and community for parents and carers supporting their trans, gender diverse and non-binary child in Australia.
• Intersex Peer Support — An intersex peer support, information and advocacy group for people born with variations in sex characteristics.
• Intersex Human Rights Australia — Support and education by and for people with intersex variation traits.
• Australian Asexuals — A place to connect with the Australian asexual community and find out more about asexuality.
• Headspace — Australia-wide online, phone and in-person support and counselling to young people, their families and friends. Call 1800 650 890 (9am-1am).
• ReachOut — ReachOut.com helps under 25s with everyday questions through to tough times.
• Beyond Blue — Beyond Blue works with the community to improve mental health and prevent suicide, so that all people in Australia can achieve their best possible mental health.1300 22 4636
• Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council — A national body that advocates for the rights of multicultural and multifaith LGBTIQ individuals and communities.
• BlaQ – Committed to empowering the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQ+ community across Australia through innovation, inclusion, understanding and advocacy.
• The Pinnacle Foundation — Provides educational scholarships, mentoring and opportunities for young LGBTIQ+ Australians to realise their full potential and overcome challenges arising from their identity.
• Out For Australia — A volunteer-run organisation that provides role models, mentors, events and support to aspiring LGBTIQA+ professionals.
• Pride In Law — A national LGBTIQ+ Law Association aimed at connecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and questioning (LGBTIQ+) members of the legal community and their allies.
• R U OK? — Provides free LGBTIQ+ resources and shares real stories to increase the willingness and confidence of all people to recognise the signs someone is struggling, start a genuine conversation and lend appropriate support.

State-based organisations

ACT

• Meridian ACT — Face-to-face counselling and access to social groups in the ACT for people of diverse sexuality and gender.
• A Gender Agenda — A Gender Agenda aims to support the goals and needs of the intersex, transgender and gender diverse communities of Canberra and the surrounding region.

NSW

• Twenty10 — Specialised services for LGBTIQA+ young people aged 12-25 including housing, mental health, counselling and social support.
• ACON — Health support for LGBTI people and people with HIV.
• The Gender Centre Inc. — Provides information and support to trans and gender-diverse people in NSW.
• TransHub — ACON's digital information and resource platform for all trans and gender diverse (TGD) people in NSW, their loved ones, allies and health providers.
• Muslim Peers Project — A collaborative Instagram page with creative and supportive contributions from queer Muslim artists and community members. It has helpful resources and anonymous online support for young people aged 14–35. 
• Sydney Bi+ Network — A volunteer-run, grassroots organisation dedicated to improving the well-being of bi+ people across Sydney.
• STARTTS — A not-for-profit service in NSW for the treatment and rehabilitation of torture and trauma survivors. STARTTS provides services for people from refugee backgrounds and has skilled clinicians supporting refugees of expansive sexualities, genders and bodies, as well as an LGBTIQA+ project providing social support groups and training for service providers.
• Home Unity — Queer-to-queer disability support. Sydney's first peer-led social support service for LGBTQI+ community members and those living with disability.
• HERE  — HERE is ACON's digital hub for information on suicide and situational distress, connecting LGBTQ+ community, their loved ones, and service providers in NSW to care, support, and resources.  

NT

• Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council (NTHAC) — The main point of contact for people in the Northern Territory who have questions about sexuality or gender.

Queensland

• Diverse Voices — Peer-to-peer telephone and internet counselling for LGBTQI people.
• Queensland AIDS Council — The Queensland AIDS Council (QuAC) promotes the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex Queenslanders.
• Open Doors Youth Service — A drop-in centre and support service for young people who identify as sex, gender or sexuality diverse.

South Australia

• Bfriend — Phone, email and face-to-face support for LGBTQIA+ people.
• SHINESA —Sexual health and clinical services for people who are intersex, gender diverse and of all sexualities. Plus counselling and peer support for people who are transgender, gender diverse and gender questioning.
• Gender Connect Country SA — provides a space for trans and gender diverse folk in regional South Australia to connect with peer workers with lived experience of gender diversity.
• Thorne Harbour South Australia — Supporting the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ communities and people living with HIV in South Australia through a range of programs, campaigns, and services.
• SAMESH — South Australia Mobilisation + Empowerment for Sexual Health provides support, education and training about sexual health and HIV for men who have sex with men and people living with HIV, as well as services for the broader LGBTIQ community in South Australia.
• Drop In Care Space — a lived experience and volunteer led community drop in centre for adults who identify as LGBTQIA+, disabled or neurodivergent including autistic, ADHD or mental health conditions.

Tasmania

• Switchboard — Anonymous and free telephone counselling, information and referrals for the LGBTQIA+ communities of Victoria and Tasmania.
• Working It Out — Tasmania's gender and sexuality support and education service provides free and confidential counselling, support groups, education programs and workplace training.

Victoria

• Switchboard — Anonymous and free telephone counselling, information and referrals for the LGBTQIA+ communities of Victoria and Tasmania.
• Zoe Belle Gender Centre (ZBGC) — An online service supporting the health and wellbeing of Victoria's sexuality and gender-diverse community, with information available to anyone in Australia.
• Thorne Harbour Health — Offers a range of programs and services for people living with HIV and sex, sexuality and gender diverse communities.
• Queerspace — An LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing support service with a focus on relationships, families, parenting and young people.
• Rainbow Door — A free specialist helpline for LGBTIQA+ Victorians, their friends and family. The service is also connected to a multi-language interpreter support service, including Auslan interpreters.
• Transgender Victoria — The leading body for trans and gender diverse advocacy, training, and resource development in Victoria.
• The Shed — A Melbourne based support group for trans masculine people, including AFAB people who are non-binary, and those who are questioning or exploring their gender.
• Parents of Gender Diverse Children — Parents of Gender Diverse Children provides peer support to parents and those parenting trans and gender diverse children.
• Pride Disability Services – Tailored and specialised disability support services for members of the LGBTQI+ and gender diverse communities and their allies in Victoria.
• Queer Refugee and Asylum Seeker Peers (QRASP) — A peer-led social support group for LGBTQI+ refugees and people seeking asylum. Based in Melbourne with members across Victoria.
• Monash Gender Clinic — Specialist public health service for the trans, gender diverse and non-binary community in Victoria.
• Melbourne Bisexual Network — mental health and advocacy professionals working to improve and promote bisexual+ inclusivity in LGBTQIA+ programs and services. 
• Bi Alliance Victoria — a non-profit volunteer-run organisation dedicated to promoting the acceptance of bi+ people. It also runs monthly discussions and support groups. 
• Spectrum Intersections — a free Melbourne-based peer-led group for people 18 and over who identify as neurodiverse and are on the LGBTIQA+ spectrums. 
• Australian Gay and Lesbian Immigration Taskforce Victoria — The Gay and Lesbian Immigration Task Force (Vic) Inc (GLITF) provides support and assistance to gay and lesbian couples (the applicant or sponsor or both) who are seeking Permanent Residence status for the non-resident partner of an individual who is an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

• Rainbow Connections Youth and Family Support Group  — Supporting transgender, non-binary and gender diverse children and their families on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.  

• Better Pride — Non-profit providing family and relationship services to LGBTIQ+ couples and their families, including separation and divorce, parenting plans and property agreements, donor planning and pet mediation. Better Pride also offers mental health support and counselling services to couples, individuals, older people, families, children and young people.  

• Charlee — A suicide prevention hub made by LGBTQIA+ people who have thought about suicide, lived through suicide attempts, supported others in distress and/or live with the pain of loss through suicide.

Western Australia

• Living Proud — Provides support for LGBTI people in Western Australia, including the QLife national LGBTI telephone counselling and referral line.
• The Freedom Centre — Provides safe social spaces, peer support, information and referral for young gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and questioning young people under age 26.
• WA Aids Council — Provides counselling, wellness, referral, general and financial assistance to people living with HIV.
• TransFolk of WA — A support service for transgender people and their loved ones in Western Australia.
• Bi+ Community Perth — A safe place for people who are not gay or straight to engage in respectful discussion, connect with people, and form community online.
• Sexuality Education Counselling Consultancy Agency (SECCA) — A non-profit organisation designed to support people with disabilities, in their efforts to learn about human relationships, sexuality and sexual health.
• DISCHARGED — Facilitates support groups for people with personal experience of suicidal thoughts or feelings, including a suicide peer support group for trans and gender diverse people.
• Youth Pride Network — A group of LGBTIQA+ young people passionate about using systemic advocacy to create a Western Australia in which all LGBTIQA+ young people are fully included, accepted and celebrated by their community.

• Transforming families — A website offering evidence-based information, resources and guidance to parents of trans and gender diverse children and young people.

Email us if there's a support service or organisation that we've missed, or if contact details need to be updated.