bringing the aged care statement of rights to life for older LGBTI+ people.

What has changed for older LGBTI+ people? What still needs to change? And how do we make rights, safety and inclusion real in everyday aged care? These are the questions aged care providers should reflect on during Pride Month and other days of significance. 

Under the new Aged Care Act, the Statement of Rights provides a clear foundation for how aged care should be experienced by older people, including dignity, independence, choice, privacy, safety, communication, social connection, advocates and significant people.

For older LGBTI+ people, these rights are not abstract. They mean looking beyond celebration and asking how the Statement of Rights is brought to life in practical ways. They can shape whether someone feels safe to name their partner, talk about their history, identify who matters to them, share important health and wellbeing information, make decisions about their care, stay connected to community, or raise concerns without fear of judgement.

understanding the history people may carry.

Many older LGBTI+ people have lived through times when laws, workplaces, families, health services and care systems were not safe or affirming. Being open about who they were, who they loved or how they expressed their gender could lead to rejection, job loss, poor treatment or exclusion. People with innate variations of sex characteristics may also have experienced stigma, secrecy or medical decisions made about their bodies without their consent.

This should also be understood alongside the strength, leadership and resilience of LGBTI+ communities as many have challenged unjust systems, cared for each other through exclusion and loss, and fought for rights many people benefit from today.

Where services have not always been safe, history can shape how older LGBTI+ people reach out, build trust and decide what to share today.

A lived experience can become a projected fear. Where someone has experienced discrimination, rejection or unsafe services, it is understandable that they may worry a new worker, provider or care environment will treat them in a similar way. The knock-on effect can impact what they share, who they name as important, whether they disclose health information, or whether they feel safe to raise concerns. Silence should not be mistaken for absence of need.

recognising diversity within LGBTI+ communities.

LGBTI+ inclusion cannot be approached as one fixed response. While there can be shared experiences across rainbow communities, including discrimination, invisibility and the need to assess safety before disclosure, experiences and needs differ across sexual orientation, gender identity, innate variations of sex characteristics, culture, faith, disability, age, health, family relationships and life experience.

This is why providers need flexible systems and culturally safe conversations that reflect the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, where an older person’s identity is respected and who they are and what they need is not questioned or denied.

For older LGBTI+ people, this means relationships, names, pronouns, gender, bodies, health needs, chosen family, community connections and privacy must be approached with respect, not assumption or discomfort.

The question is not simply, “Are we inclusive of LGBTI+ people?” A better question is, “Can each person safely tell us who they are, who matters to them, what language they use, and what respectful care looks like for them?”

bringing rights to life across the client journey.

People are always looking for signs and signals that services, systems and staff are safe. Bringing the Statement of Rights to life across the client journey is best achieved when considered as an organisational responsibility, not something left to individual workers or a single intake conversation.

This means creating consistent, flexible and culturally safe approaches across first contact, assessment, care planning, service delivery, review and complaints. Systems, forms and conversations should allow people to share who they are, who matters to them, what they need, and what feels safe, without feeling interrogated or exposed.

It also means supporting workers to weave client rights into everyday conversations in natural and practical ways, so older people are regularly reminded that their choices, privacy, relationships, preferences and concerns matter.

If an older LGBTI+ person experiences disrespect, discrimination, a privacy breach or exclusion, do they know how to raise it? Do they trust it will be taken seriously? Do workers and leaders know how to respond?

embedding inclusion into everyday practice.

The new Aged Care Act, Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards and Statement of Rights give providers a timely opportunity to look at how inclusive, person-centred and trauma-aware care is built into everyday service delivery.

Randstad's Workmonitor research reinforces that diversity is also a strength of the healthcare workforce, with 33.2% of respondents identifying as part of an underrepresented group, including 7.6% based on sexual orientation and 6.2% based on gender identity. This representation matters. It can help clients see themselves reflected in the people delivering care and reinforces the value of workplaces where diversity is recognised, respected and supported.

Pride Month and other days of significance give organisations an opportunity to recognise LGBTI+ communities, celebrate progress and acknowledge the people who made that progress possible. But visibility should lead to action.

For aged care providers, that action means reviewing the client journey through an LGBTI+ lens, developing staff capability, strengthening systems and structures, embedding the Statement of Rights into everyday conversations, and applying trauma-aware and healing-informed principles to service design and delivery.

The real test of inclusion is not just whether an organisation marks Pride Month. It is whether older LGBTI+ people experience dignity, choice, privacy, safety and respect in the ordinary moments of care. Getting there takes more than good intentions. It requires aged care providers to turn the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards and Statement of Rights into everyday practice through trauma-aware, inclusive and person-centred approaches.