The Liberal-National Coalition has ranked last among Australia’s three largest political parties in a new voting guide assessing commitments to the LGBTIQ+ community ahead of the May 3 election.
The guide, created by advocacy group Equality Australia, was based on responses to 21 questions across eight key policy areas. These questions were informed by the organisation’s Rainbow Votes Survey, which received responses from nearly 5500 LGBTIQ+ voters.
“Many LGBTIQ+ voters told us they [are] unsure about which party or candidate will do the best job of representing them and we have found higher electoral indecision in our community compared to the last federal poll,” said Equality Australia’s legal director, Heather Corkhill.
Corkhill said the guide provides an indication of where parties stand on issues affecting the LGBTIQ+ community.
“It also reflects who will fight to advance the rights and wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ people and best represent our diverse communities should they form part of Australia’s 48th parliament.”
The Coalition provided only partial commitments in three policy areas and offered no support or answers in two others.
During the election campaign, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was asked directly “if trans women are women”. Dutton referenced a recent UK Supreme Court decision in his answer before moving the conversation on.
“A woman and gender is defined with reference made the other day to a case in the United Kingdom,” Dutton said. “I think a woman is defined as an adult female and that is the definition.”
The UK decision found that the legal definition of “woman” under the Equality Act refers exclusively to biological sex, allowing the exclusion of trans women from women-only spaces, even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Gay Sydney News previously reported on the Coalition’s stance on trans rights, after Liberal senator Andrew Bragg was forced to defend his views at a recent Equality Australia forum.
Bragg’s comments followed revelations that the Coalition’s response to an Australian Christian Lobby election guide said that there are only two sexes.
“We place heavy importance on parental choice when it comes to children’s education, and we are strongly committed to protecting faith-based schools,” Bragg’s response, provided by Liberal Party headquarters, said on the Christian lobby’s australiavotes.org.au website.
“We affirm the biological fact that there are two sexes, and a small group who are intersex or indeterminate.
“We want women’s spaces to be protected – particularly women’s sport – consistent with the principles of fairness and safety.
“Similarly, we believe in protecting the innocence and sanctity of childhood.”
The Coalition’s broader party response to the Christian lobby stated it recognised “significant concern” in the community about “ensuring that biological women can compete fairly in women’s sports and the need to protect biological womens’ spaces in our community, especially toilets and change rooms”
“A Dutton Coalition Government will continue to listen to community views about these very important matters.”
The Greens were the only party to receive a near-perfect score on Equality Australia’s election voting guide, with full commitments across all policy areas except one, where it made only partial commitments.
That exception was in the area of medical interventions on intersex people. The Greens said they “recognise that people with variations in sex characteristics, and intersex status continue to face discrimination regarding health outcomes, including the undergoing of unnecessary medical procedures without their consent”.
They committed to implementing the Darlington Statement — a joint platform developed in 2017 by intersex advocates that calls for legal recognition, bodily autonomy, and an end to non-consensual medical procedures — and to funding research into the needs of intersex people. However, they did not commit to ending medical interventions altogether.
Labor and the Coalition both said this issue was a matter for state and territory health departments.
Labor received full marks in three areas: health, protections for LGBTIQ+ people beyond Australia, and data collection.
Last year, Labor announced an investment of $15.5 million for implementing the National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTQI+ People, and recently topped this up with a further $10 million. The Coalition also confirmed it supports the plan in full.
On protections for LGBTIQ+ people internationally, Labor said it would finalise and implement a dedicated LGBTIQ+ human rights engagement strategy. It also noted it had established specific roles within the federal Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for LGBTIQ+ issues.
The Coalition said it champions human rights in foreign policy but made no commitment to dedicated staffing for LGBTIQ+ issues.
On data collection, Labor said it would ensure the 2026 census includes questions about gender and sexual orientation for the first time.
However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese initially blocked those questions before the Greens, Wentworth MP Allegra Spender, and others successfully pushed for their reinstatement.
The Coalition said only that it would consider advice from the public service on data collection, without making any specific commitment.
The full responses and voting guide for each major party are available on Equality Australia’s website.
Gay Sydney News reporter