What Matters To LGBTIQ+ Voters This Election

Elections are not just about winners and losers or numbers in the tally room at the end of the election night.

They tell the story of the character of a nation – the nation as it is and the nation as we would like it to be. This election is a chance for you to help tell that story and to show politicians and community leaders what matters to you.

With almost a million LGBTIQ+ voters in Australia, not to mention allies numbering millions more, we represent a powerful voting bloc capable of influencing policy and funding decisions, with real impact on electoral outcomes.

To understand what matters most to LGBTIQ+ voters this election, Equality Australia went out with an extensive online survey earlier this year. Over 5,000 LGBTIQ+ voters from around the country took part, providing us with a comprehensive picture of what our community cares about.

It also enabled us to track changes in community sentiment and voting habits since our last survey ahead of the 2022 poll. What stands out clearly is that amid a “cost-of-living election” LGBTIQ+ voters remain firmly fixed on how policy issues affecting our communities will shape our lives and our futures.

We still share the same concerns as many other Australians, such as the environment, sky-high power bills and the price of bread, but policy issues impacting our communities ranked as our highest priority.

In fact, LGBTIQ+ issues were rated as the most significant national issue, with about 95 per cent of us saying that LGBTIQ+ issues are important when deciding our vote – marking a shift from 2022 when the environment was our top concern.

Perhaps it reflects our collective worry about developments in the US and the global anti-rights movements or maybe it’s related to the frustration some of us feel over the lack of progress on key issues affecting LGBTIQ+ people.

Either way it sends a clear message to those who seek to represent us.

Despite significant gains in LGBTIQ+ health, we have been let down by a failure to protect queer students and teachers in schools and the absence of a dedicated voice for LGBTIQ+ issues in government continues to limit progress in a wide range of areas.

Most Australians stridently oppose discrimination against our community and believe we should have the same rights and protections as everyone else. Redbridge polling commissioned by Equality Australia earlier this year found 89 per cent of voters think our community deserves to live with dignity and respect.

There was also widespread support for removing the exemptions in federal law that allow religious schools to legally discriminate against LGBTQ+ staff and students.

Such findings should put political parties on notice.

Even more interesting for political pundits is that we’re seeing higher levels of electoral indecision within our community compared with 2022, and many of our survey respondents expressed uncertainty about which party or candidate will best represent their interests.

About 37 per cent of LGBTIQ+ respondents intend to change their vote while just over 20 per cent are undecided — an increase in voter indecision since the last election when only 13.6 per cent of people were unsure.

It’s a clarion call for those smart enough to listen. Parties and independents can’t take LGBTIQ+ voters for granted and they should be working hard to win back voters and build support among those who are undecided.

You told us how they can do this: we want to see action on discrimination, conversion practices and unnecessary, non-consensual medical treatments on intersex people, which topped the list of voter priorities. Support for rainbow families and addressing the mental health crisis came close behind.

LGBTIQ+ people in Australia are united on the issues that matter to them, even policy issues that don’t personally affect them. Ending unnecessary medical treatments on people with innate variations of their sex characteristics has consistently remained a top voter issue across both of our election surveys, despite intersex people accounting for only a small percentage of the people surveyed.

This speaks to the character of our community – and your vote will help make Australia the nation you want it to be.

The Rainbow Votes Election Forum will be held on April 15, giving LGBTIQ+ people around the country the chance to hear directly from political representatives on the issues that matter most to them. To register:  https://events.humanitix.com/rainbow-votes-election-forum-2025