LGBTIQA+ South Australians deserve to live, work, study and age in safety, with pride and belonging. To get there, we need strong evidence grounded in lived experience, so decision‑makers know how to tackle the realities our communities face.
This page brings together what research tells us, where the gaps are, and how our partners and community can work together to build a stronger evidence base for change.
Need help seeking LGBTIQA+ South Australian research participants?
If you’re a researcher and want support connecting with LGBTIQA+ South Australian research participants, please email us at info@saraa.org.au with the subject line ‘Research participation” and include:
- a plain language blurb about your research
- an explanation of who can participate, how and any reimbursement they may receive
- evidence that you’ve received ethics approval from your university
- any promotional image you may have.
Health and wellbeing
- Estimates and characteristics of LGBTI+ populations in Australia (2022) – Australian Burea of Statistics data on gender, trans and gender diverse, sexual orientation, and people born with variations of sex characteristics
- LGBTQA+ Health and Wellbeing in South Australia – Secondary analyses of three of the largest national surveys of LGBTQA+ adults and young people, using data from those living in South Australia.
- LGBTQA+ Mental Health and Suicidality: South Australia Briefing Paper – Insights into LGBTQA+ mental health and suicidality in South Australia using three national samples of LGBTQA+ health data.
- Private Lives 3 – Australia’s largest national survey of the health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people to date.
- Rainbow Realities (2023) – In-depth analyses of large-scale LGBTQA+ health and wellbeing data in Australia commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care to inform development of the 10-year LGBTIQA+ Health and Wellbeing Action Plan
- Mapping the state of lesbian, bisexual and queer women’s health in Australia (2025) – An evidence-based overview of lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women’s health outcomes.
- SWASH: insights into the health of lesbian, bisexual, queer and other non-heterosexual identifying women aged 16 to 71 years who engaged with LGBTIQ communities in and around Sydney (2016-2020).
- The Health and Wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ People in Rural Australia (2025) – Review of the health status of LGBTIQA+ people living in rural areas compared with their urban counterparts and with non-LGBTIQA+ people in their local areas.
- Violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of LGBTQA+ people with disability (2022) – Data on the experiences of LGBTQA+ people with disability in Australia.
Mental health and suicide prevention
- LGBTQA+ Mental Health and Suicidality: South Australia Briefing Paper – Insights into LGBTQA+ mental health and suicidality in South Australia using three national samples of LGBTQA+ health data.
- At the Intersection: Insights on Mental Health and Suicidality by demographic factors – A series of research papers featuring insights on mental health and suicidality across LGBTQA+ communities in Australia, with a particular focus on exploring intersections other with demographic factors (e.g., ethnicity, cultural background, age, socioeconomic status, geographical contexts and regions).
LGBTQA+ Identity and Older Age
LGBTQA+ Identity and Ethnicity
LGBTQA+ Identity and Residential Location - Lean on Me (2021) – Peer support for mental health among LGBTQ adults in Melbourne
- Understanding LGBTI+ Lives in Crisis (2019) – LGBTIQ+ use of crisis support services in Australia.
- Mental health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ adults (2024)
Trans healthcare
- Trans Pathways (2017): a study of trans and gender diverse young people and their mental health and care pathways
- Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey (2018) – national survey of sexual health among transgender (‘trans’) and gender diverse people
- Gender affirming surgery in Australia (2021) – Evidence brief on the provision of medical gender affirmation, including surgical interventions.
- First Port of Call (2019) – SA Commissioner for Children and Young People recommendations for the SA health care system to better meet the needs of trans and gender diverse children and young people.
- Experiences of affirmation among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trans and gender diverse people (2024)
Alcohol & other drugs
- Futures of Substance – Exploring LGBTIQ+ people’s understandings of ‘problematic’ use of alcohol and other drugs
Motivations for substance use among LGBTQ+ people
Understandings of impactful (or ‘problematic’) AOD use
LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of professional AOD support
Peer cultures of AOD care within the LGBTQ+ community - Queer Women’s Substance Use Over Time – A longitudinal qualitative study exploring alcohol, tobacco, and vaping among LBQ women in Victoria and New South Wales (2022-2025).
LBQ Women and Alcohol
LBQ Women and Smoking
LBQ Women and Vaping
LBG Women and Substance use
Supporting LBQ women and non-binary people with alcohol, tobacco and nicotine use - Queering vaping: A qualitative analysis of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women’s E-cigarette use in Australia
- Psychological, social and cultural influences on smoking among lesbian, bisexual and queer women
- Alcohol and Tobacco Use Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Identifying Women: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study Protocol
- ‘All the dykes I know drink beer’: Sexuality and gender performance through alcohol consumption among lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in Australia
- Perceptions and Cultural Practices of Vaping Among Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women in Australia
Domestic, family and sexual violence
- Catalysts of change (2024) – Interventions and service pathways for gay, bisexual, trans and queer (GBTQ) men who have used family violence in Victoria, Australia
- Developing LGBTQ programs for perpetrators and victims/survivors of domestic and family violence (2020) – This research highlights the barriers to accessing mainstream DFV services, including structural discrimination, minority stress, and fears related to disclosure and stigma
Physical activity
- Free to Exist (2024) – one of the first Australian studies to document participation rates of LGBTIQA+ people in sport and provide current data on the prevalence of discrimination for LGBTIQA+ people across sport and movement settings
- Equal Play Study (2014) – The Impact of Homophobic Bullying during Sport and Physical Education Participation on Same-Sex-Attracted and Gender-Diverse Young Australians’ Depression and Anxiety Levels “The Equal Play Study”
- Sport and the LGBTIQ+ Community (2021): A South Australian Study – key issues that the LGBTIQ+ community face with respect to sporting involvement
- Inclusive sport practices report (2019) – This is the first South Australia to identify barriers and enablers in sport for the LGBTIQ+ community, commissioned by Inclusive Sport South Australia (SA) and the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing
Ageing
- Older lesbian and gay adults’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to accessing health and aged care services in Australia
- Experiences and perceptions of residential and home care services among older lesbian women and gay men in Australia
- Health, wellbeing, and social support in older Australian lesbian and gay care-givers
- Trans women’s perceptions of residential aged care in Australia
- Volunteering among older lesbian and gay adults
- Factors associated with self-reported PTSD diagnosis among older lesbian women and gay men
- Mental health and identity adjustment in older lesbian and gay adults – Assessing the role of whether their parents knew about their sexual orientation
- Demographic and Psychosocial Predictors of Housing Security in Older Lesbian and Gay Australians
- Comfort among older lesbian and gay people in disclosing their sexual orientation to health and aged care services
- Recent versus lifetime experiences of discrimination and the mental and physical health of older lesbian women and gay men
Youth
- Writing Themselves In 4 (2019) – Australia’s largest national survey of the health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people to date.
- Writing Themselves In 4 – South Australia summary (2019) – key findings from Writing Themselves In 4 that are specific to participants who were resident in South Australia (SA) at the time of completion.
- Queer Youth Now (2025) – A national snapshot of what life looks like for LGBTQIA+ youth aged 13 to 25 across Australia today.
- Celebrate Pride (2025) – Outlines the evidence base and rationale for hosting LGBTIQA+ youth events, and provides practical advice when doing so.
- Feeling good as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ young person (2024)
Cancer care
- LGBTQIA+ people’s experiences of cancer care and navigation services – Cancer-Council-Australia-commissioned report brings together evidence on the experiences of LGBTQIA+ people with cancer across the care continuum
- The Importance of LGBTQ Affirming Screening Services for Achieving Cervical Cancer Elimination in Australia (2023)
- Transcending discrimination in health & cancer care (2019) – The Trans Health and Cancer Care Study was conducted in 2018-19 and involved 537 trans and gender diverse (TGD) people from across Australia over the age of 18.
Conversion practices
- Improving spiritual healthcare for LGBTQA+ Australians: Beyond conversion practices (2024)
- Healing Spiritual Harms (2021) – Supporting recovery from LGBTIQA+ change and supression practices.
- Preventing Harm, Promoting Justice (2018) – Responding to LGBT conversion therapy in Australia.
- Religious Conversion Practices and LGBTQA + Youth (2022) – examines Australian LGBTQA + youths’ experiences and outcomes of religious conversion practices attempting to change or suppress their gender or sexuality
- Mis-education of Australian Youth: exposure to LGBTQA+ conversion ideology and practises (2021) – This paper reports on a critical survivor-driven study which retrospectively explored Australian LGBTQA+ youth exposure to conversion practices both within and outside of education settings
Supporting recovery from conversion practices
- Better understanding of the scope and nature of LGBTQA+ religious conversion practices will support recovery (2025)
- Supporting LGBTQA+ peoples’ recovery from sexual orientation and gender identity and expression change efforts (2022)
- Supporting Survivors of LGBTQA+ Conversion Ideology and Practices: A reference guide (2022)
- Mental Health Practitioners’ Knowledge of LGBTQA+ Conversion Practices and Their Perceptions of Impacts on Survivors (2024) – identifying Australian mental health practitioners’ knowledge of what LGBTQA+ conversion practices are and their perceptions of impacts on survivors
- Engaging Mental Health Service Providers to Recognize and Support Conversion Practice Survivors Through Their Journey to Recovery (2023) – Reviews evidence concerning associated harms and their lack of efficacy in changing sexuality or gender identity, and highlights the changing nature of research in this space to focus on the negative impacts of conversion practices on survivors
Workplace inclusion
- SEEK P.R.I.D.E Report 2021 – Workplace challenges LGBTIQA+ people face, their effects and how employers and colleagues can better support LGBTIQA+ people at work.