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19/08/2025

LGBTIQA+ stands for: 

• lesbian
• gay
• bisexual
• trans and gender diverse
• intersex (people with innate variations of sex characteristics)
• queer (or questioning)
• asexual
• with the plus symbol to allow for the many different terms used to describe identity beyond LGBTIQA.

These letters have changed over time and different versions of LGBTIQA+ are used in different places. 

Demographics

• Percentage of Australia’s population who are LGBTIQA+:
  • estimates range from 5%[1] to 12%[2].
• Among 16–24 years olds, 10%[3] – 18%[4] identify with a sexuality other than ‘straight’ and 2% with a gender different to the one that was registered at their birth.

Experiences of Indigenous LGBTIQA+ people

• Indigenous LGBTIQA+ people must frequently choose between getting care that supports them as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or as LGBTIQA+. This often means having to hide part of who they are.[5]
• In a 2023 survey, 43% of young Indigenous people had heard rude, hurtful or ignorant comments about their identity when accessing LGBTIQA+ health services.[6]

LGBTIQA+ people who have come to Australia because they are not able to live safely in their country of origin

In a 2023 survey of LGBTIQA+ people who are in Australia because they are not able to live safely in their country of origin due to their LGBTIQA+ status:

• 85% experienced racism and migration status discrimination
• 69% experienced LGBTIQA+ discrimination

The most common places participants reported experiencing discrimination were in:

• employment: 69%
• education: 53%
• housing: 51% [7]

People with intersex variations

• It is estimated that people with innate variations of sex characteristics (intersex variations) make up to 1.7% of the population.[8]
• People with intersex variations continue to campaign to be included in the Australian Census in a meaningful way.[9]

Older LGBTI people

A 2023 survey of older LGBTI people in Western Australia found:

• Older LGBTI people were more likely to feel lonely if they had few interactions with other LGBTI people.[10]
• 69% of older LGBTI people preferred mixed age group or intergenerational activities, and 58% want these to be LGBTI focused.[11]

Acceptance and inclusion

• How many LGBTIQ people surveyed reported that they felt accepted:
  • at work - 3 in 5
  • at social or community events - more than 1 in 3
  • when accessing health/support services - more than 2 in 5
  • at educational institutions - more than 1 in 2.[12]

Living together and marriage

• 78,425 same-sex couples were living together in Australia in 2021, a 68% increase since 2016.[13]
  • 1 in 3 of these same-sex couples were married.[14]

Experiencing homelessness

• LGBTIQA+ people experience homelessness at more than twice the rate of the general Australian population.[15]

Mental health

• In a 2023 survey of young Indigenous LGBTQA+ people:
  • nearly 70% said they experienced or had been diagnosed with depression
  • 64% had generalised anxiety
  • 35% had an eating disorder.[16]
• Of all LGBTQA+ people, 75% have experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life, compared with 42% of heterosexual people.[17]
• In a 2020 survey,
  • trans men
  • non-binary people
  • people who are pansexual

  • people who are asexual

    reported experiencing psychological distress at over 4 times the rate reported by the general population. [18]

Downloads

• LGBTIQA+ rights fact sheet Word (76 KB)

Suggested citation

• Suggested citation: �����鱨վ (2025) Stats & Facts: LGBTIQA+ rights.

References

• [1] Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2024). . 5% = 4.5% of Australians 16 years and over.
• [2] Ipsos. (2024). . p. 54. Net % of LGBT+ Adults By Country.
  Due to a lack of comprehensive, publicly available data, it is difficult to estimate the total LGBTIQA+ population in Australia- these numbers are estimates, due to LGBTIQA+ status not being captured in many key data sets.
• [3] Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2024). .
• [4] Higgins, D. J., Lawrence, D., Haslam, D. M., Mathews, B., Malacova, E., Erskine, H. E., Finkelhor, D., Pacella, R., Meinck, F., Thomas, H. J., & Scott, J. G. (2024). . Child Maltreatment, 0(0), pp. 6 – 9. 1 in 5 = 17.7%.
• [5] Day, M., Carlson, B., Bonson, D., & Farrelly, T. (2022). . Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, p. 16.
  Hill, B., Uink, B., Dodd, J., Bonson, D., Eades, A., & Bennet, S. (2021). . Kurongkurl Katitjin, Edith Cowan University, p. 31.
• [6] Liddelow-Hunt, S., Uink, B., Daglas, K., Hill, J.H.L., Hayward, L., Stretton, N., Perry, Y., Hill, B., & Lin, A. (2023). , p. 50. The ‘I’ representing people with intersex variations in the LGBTQA+ acronym has not been included here, as data on this group was not recorded in this particular study.
• [7] Cochrane, B., Dixson, R., & Dixson, T. (2023). . Forcibly Displaced People Network. pp. 40-41. 53% = 52.8%. 51% = 50.8%. Captured in these statistics are: refugees, people seeking asylum, and migrants (both temporary and permanent) from non-Western countries who are not able to live safely in their country of origin due to their LGBTIQA+ status and subsequent discrimination, persecution and violence.
• [8] Blackless, M., Charuvastra, A., Derryck, A., Fausto-Sterling, A., Lauzanne, K., & Lee, E. (2000). . American Journal of Human Biology, 12(2). pp 151–166. There are many difficulties determining an accurate figure, including discrimination within medical systems, secrecy and non-disclosure, misconceptions, and stigma. See also:
  InterAction. (2025, February 6). .
  Victoria Department of Health. (n.d.) .
• [9] Carpenter, M. (2022, September 27). . Intersex Human Rights Australia.
• [10] Brooker, R. (2023). . GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc.; Department of Social Services, p. 5. Older people = 50+. This study was conducted in Western Australia only.
• [11] Brooker, R. (2023). . GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc.; Department of Social Services, p. 5.
• [12] Hill, A. O., Bourne, A., McNair, R., Carman, M., & Lyons, A. (2020). . Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University: Melbourne. p. 37.
• [13] Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2022, December 2). .
• [14] Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2022, December 2). .
• [15] Hill, A. O., Bourne, A., McNair, R., Carman, M., & Lyons, A. (2020). . Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University. p. 36.
• [16] Liddelow-Hunt, S., Uink, B., Daglas, K., Hill, J.H.L., Hayward, L., Stretton, N., Perry, Y., Hill, B., & Lin, A. (2023). . Young people = 14 – 25 years). Nearly 70% = 68.1%. 35% = 34.7%. p. 39.
• [17]Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2024). . 75% = 74.5%. 42% = 41.7%. 
  LGB+ in this data represents people who described their sexual orientation as gay or lesbian, bisexual, or who used a different term (such as asexual, pansexual or queer. 
  “Mental disorder”: in the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing three groups of mental disorders were assessed – Anxiety, Affective and Substance Use disorders – based on definitions and criteria of the World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
• [18] Hill, A. O., Bourne, A., McNair, R., Carman, M., & Lyons, A. (2020). . Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, p. 47. Psychological distress = High or very high levels of distress. Percentages by group: trans men: 75.8%, nonbinary people: 74.9%, people who are pansexual: 75.9%, people who are asexual: 71.7%. 
  Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2023).  
  This source collates multiple datasets, including the 2020-2022 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing which estimated that 17% of Australians aged 16 – 85 experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress.