While most sexually and gender diverse people lead happy fulfilling lives there are challenges for many, including for some LGBTIQ+ people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
Research suggests that mental health and wellbeing is poorer among LGBTIQ+ people than the general community. Factors that influence the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ people such as stigma, prejudice, discrimination, lack of family and social support and violence may be particularly prevalent among people from some CALD communities where sexual and gender diversity are less socially acceptable. Furthermore, people from CALD backgrounds may experience racism within LGBTIQ+ communities. Some people from CALD communities, such as refugees, have experienced multiple traumas as a result of war and dislocation in addition to the impact of prejudice or persecution based on their sexual or gender identity.
NSW Health is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ+ CALD communities identifying the intersecting issues they face through the NSW LGBTIQ+ Health Strategy 2022-2027 and the NSW Plan for Healthy Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities: 2019-2023. This page aims to link to information for LGBTIQ+ CALD communities about where to find assistance and for service providers about delivering culturally appropriate mental health and health care to LGBTIQ+ CALD communities. The page is not exhaustive and we encourage you to use it as a starting point to assist you to find further information about mental health and LGBTIQ+ CALD communities.
A note about terminology: The Transcultural Mental Health Centre (TMHC) recognises that the language and terminology used to describe sexuality, gender and intersex variations continues to evolve. The terminology used on this page reflects the time of writing. In keeping with the terminology used by NSW Health we use LGBTIQ+ in reference to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse, intersex, queer, and the + represents people of other diverse sexualities and genders not captured in the letters of the acronym. TMHC acknowledges that communities may use other terms to describe themselves.
Terminology is important when working with LGBTIQ+ communities. Understanding and using appropriate terminology when referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual and other sexually or gender diverse (LGBTIQ+) people promotes respect and inclusion. Terminology and language is ever evolving and so the terminology used may change with time as may the terminology used by individuals to describe themselves. It is important to remember that different LGBTIQ+ people will use different terms to describe themselves. As health professionals we should use the terms that our clients use to describe themselves but also understand that these terms may not be appropriate for someone else.
The following resources provide more information about appropriate terminology.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australian Institute of Family Studies (2022) LGBTIQA+ glossary of common terms CFCA Resource Sheet
Western Sydney Local Health District and STARTTS (2024) Relevant words for communities with diverse sexualities, genders, bodies, relationships, families, and cultures Available in English, Arabic and Simplified Chinese.
QTIPOC
QTIPOC refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual and other sexually or gender diverse from culturally and linguistically diverse communities i.e Queer, Trans or Intersex Person of Colour (QTIPOC). For more information about this term visit What does QTIPOC mean?
The following organisations provide specialist information and support for LGBTIQ+ people from CALD communities
Advance Diversity Services
Multicultural LGBTIQA+ Support Directory
ACON
Provides community health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders. www.acon.org.au
Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council
www.agmc.org.au
Forcibly Displaced People Network
The voice of LGBTIQ+ people in forced displacement
https://fdpn.org.au
The Gender Centre
Services & support for the trans & gender diverse community
https://gendercentre.org.au
Greater Western Sydney Inclusive Communities
Initiative from ACON and West Syd MRC
www.inclusivecommunities.com.au
Its Time to Talk - Healthy LGBTQI+ Relationships
www.itstimetotalk.net.au/healthy-lgbtqi-relationships
Kaleido Health Centre
A dedicated LGBTQ+ health service in NSW
https://kaleidohealth.org.au
Maple Leaf House - Transgender and gender diverse health services in Hunter New England
www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/hnelhd/services/child-and-family-health/youth-services/gender-diversity
MindOUT National LGBTI Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Project
www.lgbtiqhealth.org.au/mindout
Mature Age Gays (MAG)
MAG, otherwise known as Mature Age Gays; is a social club for gay and bi sexual men and supporters.https://www.facebook.com/MatureAgeGays
Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service
The Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS) works with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in NSW to improve health and well-being in relation to HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
www.mhahs.org.au/index.php/en
Muslims Peers Project
https://outloud.org.au/projects/muslim-peers-project
NSW Health
How can I support a LGBTIQA+ person with a mental health condition?
www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/psychosocial/strategies/Pages/diversity-lgbtiqa.aspx
Out on the Shelves
Out on the Shelves is a regularly-updated online reading resource from New Zealand that lists books from around the world with rainbow themes and characters. https://outontheshelves.insideout.org.nz/
QLife
QLife is a nationally-oriented counselling and referral service for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex (LGBTI). https://qlife.org.au
Queer Sporting Alliance
Queer Sporting Alliance (QSA) is Australia and NZ's largest LGBTIQA+ sporting club. www.queersportingalliance.com
Rainbow Cultures
Online directory of groups and services for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) LGBTIQ+community in NSW. www.rainbowcultures.org.au
Rainbow Families
Charity supporting and advocating for Rainbow Families at every stage of their lives.
www.rainbowfamilies.com.au
Rainbow Health Australia
https://rainbowhealthaustralia.org.au
Sydney Children's Hospital - Trans and Gender Diverse Service
www.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/clinical-hub/priority-populations/trans-and-gender-diverse
Sydney Queer Muslims
https://sydneyqueermuslims.org.au
Trans Pride Australia
Advocates for and promotes visibility of, trans and gender diverse people.
https://transprideaustralia.org.au
Transhub
A digital information and resource platform for all trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones, allies and health providers in NSW
www.transhub.org.au/
Trikone Australia
Support queer South Asians
https://trikone.org.au
True Colours
Specialist Trans and Gender Diverse Health Service for young people in the Sydney area.
www.seslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/true-colours-specialist-trans-and-gender-diverse-health-service
Twenty10 inc GLCS NSW
Sydney based service working across New South Wales, providing a broad range of specialised services for LGBTIQ+ young people 12-25 including transitional housing, social support, counselling, case management, advocacy, and referral support. Twenty10 provides training and consultancy services across working inclusively with LGBTI+ communities.
www.twenty10.org.au
Western Sydney Transgender Support
www.facebook.com/groups/820487808016061
Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council (AGMC Inc)
What we are and what we do
English, Arabic, Farsi, Karen, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish
agmc.org.au/who-we-are
Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council (AGMC Inc) and RMIT University
LGBTIQA+ Multilingual Terminology
Monolingual, bilingual and multilingual terminology to authentically represent the identities of LGBTIQA+ community members in English, Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Korean, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.
https://www.rainbowterminology.org
Australian Government, Department of Social Services
Family Safety Pack - LGBTIQ relationships
Available in Amharic, Arabic, Assyrian, Bemba, Bengali, Burmese, Chinese - simplified, Chinese - traditional, Croatian, Dari, Dinka, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Hazaragi, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Karen, Khmer, Korean, Kurdish, Lingala, Malay, Malayalam, Nepali, Ormo, Pashto, Punjabi, Rohingya, Russian, Sierra Leone Krio, Somali, Spanish, Sudanese Arabic, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Tigrinya, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese.
https://www.dss.gov.au/family-safety-pack
Forcibly Displaced People Network
Together we stand: the Pod Squad Story
This comic looks at sexual health and well-being, discusses the challenges of navigating consent, and reflects on overcoming intimate partner violence and building healthy respectful relationships.
Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, Malay, Persian and Spanish.
www.fdpn.org.au/safe-and-healthy
Headspace
Understanding your sexuality and sexual identity
English, Punjabi, Vietnamese
Healthy Horizons
Gender Identity - webpage in English and Chinese - Simplified
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (US)
(Note - US organisation, some information such as contact details may not be relevant to Australian audiences.)
Coming Out as LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander Americans
English, Simplified Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese
Family is Still Family - factsheets and videos
English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Bengali, Hindi, Arabic
www.nqapia.org/copy-of-what-we-do-1
One Foot In
The One Foot In videos and podcasts talk about what it means to have one foot in [the closet]. The hosts challenge mainstream narratives of 'being out' and ensure LGBTQIA+ people from diverse backgrounds who have 'one foot in' the proverbial closet feel heard, and know that they are not alone.
https://linktr.ee/onefootin
Twenty 10
Safe and Affirmed Guide Sheets
LGBTIQA+ Young People’s Experiences of Family of Origin Violence, Abuse & Neglect
Policy and guidelines to support health and mental health professionals working with LGBTIQ+ people from CALD communities.
The latest research and reports about mental health and LGBTIQ+ people from CALD communities.
Where available we have included links to the full text of items. If the full text is not freely available online, your hospital or local council library can assist you to locate the full text.
Alessi, E. J., et al. (2017). "A Qualitative Exploration of the Premigration Victimization Experiences of Sexual and Gender Minority Refugees and Asylees in the United States and Canada." The Journal of Sex Research 54(7): 936-948. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2016.1229738
Amos, N., Lim, G. and Buckingham, P. et al. on behalf of the Private Lives 3, Writing Themselves In 4, SWASH, Trans Pathways, Walkern Katatdjin, and Pride and Pandemic teams (2023). Rainbow Realities: In-depth analyses of large-scale LGBTQA+ health and wellbeing data in Australia. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University. www.latrobe.edu.au/arcshs/work/rainbow-realities
Arora, S., et al. (2022). ""Therapy can be restorative, but can also be really harmful": Therapy experiences of QTBIPOC clients." Psychotherapy https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-65476-001
Australian Government, Department of Health and Aged Care (2025) LGBTQ+ people and mental health services research project – Final reports
These are the final reports from the LGBTQ+ People and Mental Health Services Research Project undertaken by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/lgbtq-people-and-mental-health-services-research-project-final-reports?language=en
Becerra, M. B., et al. (2021). "Experiences of violence and mental health outcomes among Asian American transgender adults in the United States." PLoS ONE Vol 16(3), 2021, ArtID e0247812 16(3). https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247812
Byron, P. (2023) "LGBTQ+ young people’s digital peer support for mental health." University of Technology Sydney. Sydney, Australia. https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2023-05/apo-nid322739.pdf
Chiang, S.-Y., et al. (2018). "From secrecy to discretion: The views of psychological therapists on supporting Chinese sexual and gender minority young people." Children and Youth Services Review 93: 307-314. http://oro.open.ac.uk/56169/1/56169.pdf
Diversity Council Australia/Pride in Diversity (2020) Intersections at Work: Understanding the Experiences of Culturally Diverse LGBTQ Talent, Sydney www.dca.org.au/research/project/intersections-work
Dominguez, M. L. (2017). "LGBTQIA people of color: Utilizing the cultural psychology model as a guide for the mental health assessment and treatment of patients with diverse identities." Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health 21(3): 203-220 www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19359705.2017.1320755
Fox, S. D., et al. (2020). "Minority stress, social integration, and the mental health needs of LGBTQ asylum seekers in North America." Social Science & Medicine Vol 246 2020, ArtID 112727 246 www.randigriffin.com/assets/pdfs/Fox_etal_2020.pdf
Hammoud-Beckett, S. (2021). Intersectional Narrative Practice with Queer Muslim Clients. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 43(1), 120–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2022.2016664
Hammoud-Beckett, S. (2007) Azima ila Hayati – An invitation in to my life: Narrative conversations about sexual identity. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, No.1, p29-39 https://dulwichcentre.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Azima-ila-Hayati-Narrative-conversations-about-sexual-identity-by-Sekneh-Hammoud-Beckett.pdf
Hermaszewska, S., et al. (2022). "Lived experiences of transgender forced migrants and their mental health outcomes: Systematic review and meta-ethnography." BJPsych Open Vol 8 2022, ArtID e91 8
www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/lived-experiences-of-transgender-forced-migrants-and-their-mental-health-outcomes-systematic-review-and-metaethnography/DB06D856BE3DB4F005131691E958608F
Hill, A.O. et al. (2021) ‘Writing Themselves In 4: The health and wellbeing of LGBTQA+ young people in Australia. New South Wales summary report.’ ARCSHS Monograph Series 126. Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University: Melbourne. www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/1198961/Writing-Themselves-In-4-NSW-report.pdf
Mendos, L.R. et al. (2020) State-Sponsored Homophobia report: Global Legislation Overview Update Geneva: ILGA, December 2020 https://ilga.org/state-sponsored-homophobia-report
Office for the Advocate of Children and Young People (2022) Voices of LGBTQIA+ Young People in NSW Report www.acyp.nsw.gov.au/lgbtqiareport
Ogunbajo, A., et al. (2019). "Substance use and depression among recently migrated African gay and bisexual men living in the United States." Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 21(6): 1224-1232 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6570586
Patel, S. (2019). "“Brown girls can’t be gay”: Racism experienced by queer South Asian women in the Toronto LGBTQ community." Journal of lesbian studies 23(3): 410-423. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10894160.2019.1585174
Pallotta-Chiarolli, Maria (2016). Supporting Same-Sex Attracted and Gender Diverse Young People of Multicultural and Multifaith Backgrounds: Executive
Summary and Full Research Report. Melbourne: Equality Branch of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. https://agmc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Supporting_Same_Sex_Research_Report.pdf
Robinson, K.H., et al. (2020) Advancing LGBTQ+ Safety and Inclusion: Understanding thelived experiences and health needs of sexuality and gender diverse people in Greater Western Sydney, Western Sydney University & ACON www.acon.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GWS-LGBTQ-Research-Report-LR_FINAL.pdf
Karinna Saxby, Sara Hutchinson Tovar, Glenda M. Bishop, Ian Down, Ricki Spencer, Dennis Petrie, Zoe Aitken (2025) Gender identity and mental health inequalities 2001–2022: population-level evidence from an Australian cohort study: BMJ Mental Health 28:e301277 https://mentalhealth.bmj.com/content/28/1/e301277
Thomsen, P. and Brown-Acton, P. et al. (2023) The Manalagi Survey Community Report: Examining the Health and Wellbeing of Pacific Rainbow+ Peoples in Aotearoa-New Zealand . The Manalagi Project Team: Auckland, New Zealand www.manalagi.org/_files/ugd/b7eedf_7a214bf6e78349f084581c5f2b68bf2d.pdf
Ussher, J. M., et al. (2020). Crossing the line: Lived experience of sexual violence among trans women of colour from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Australia, Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS). www.anrows.org.au/publication/crossing-the-line-lived-experience-of-sexual-violence-among-trans-women-of-colour-from-culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-cald-backgrounds-in-australia
Wong, N. and D. B. Menkes (2018). "Ethnic youth and sexual identity: The role of clinical and social support for 'double minorities'." Australasian Psychiatry 26(2): 181-183. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1039856217748809
Zheng, H. (2022). ‘The pandemic helped me!’ Queer international students’ identity negotiation with family on social media in immobile times. International Journal of Cultural Studies 0(0). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9790851/
The following organisations provide training to assist service providers working with LGBTIQ+ people from CALD communities.
AGMC Training
AGMC provides training for community organisations and for profit corporations to explore the intersections between race, culture, religion, and LGBTIQ identities.
For more information, email [email protected]
https://agmc.org.au/training/
Building service capacity to work with LGBTIQ+ forcibly displaced people
Social Policy Group
www.myauslearning.org.au/lgbtiq-settlement
Introduction to LGBTIQ+ Inclusive Health Care
HETI - Health Education Training Institute
This training for NSW Health staff only aims to build confidence in delivering inclusive health care for the LGBTIQ+ communities. Login to your HETI account and search for course code: 223561775.
http://myhealthlearning.citc.health.nsw.gov.au
Intersect Learning Modules
These learning modules have been created in response to the stories, experiences, reflections, thoughts and intentions expressed by service providers, community leaders, advocates, allies and lived experience experts regarding the health and wellbeing needs of same sex attracted and gender diverse people from multicultural and faith based communities. www.lgbtiqintersect.org.au/learning-modules
Rainbow Health Australia
Rainbow Health Australia provides evidence-based and engaging learning experiences, drawing on research, lived experiences of LGBTIQ people and inclusive practice principles to support individuals and organisations to be more LGBTIQ inclusive.
https://rainbowhealthaustralia.org.au/training-programs
STARTTS Training
This one-day workshop focuses on building understanding of the specific issues faced by people with asylum seeker and refugee background who are LGBTIQ+, including strengths, vulnerabilities and the risks experienced in their home countries, during the journey and resettling in Australia. www.startts.org.au/training/introductory-workshops/lgbtqi-inclusive-practice/
We welcome your feedback about this page and suggestions for additional resources. Send us an email at [email protected].
Last Updated 19 March 2025