Australians are a diverse group of people, and two aspects of that diversity are gender and sexual orientation. Both of these have sometimes been taboo, or difficult to talk about, within mainstream Australian culture and many other cultures. 

Unfortunately, that cultural discomfort has often contributed to making life more difficult for people whose gender or sexual orientation don’t fit with mainstream society’s expectations. They include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse people, or LGBT people for short. They also include members of other groups whose gender or sexual orientation are marginalised.

In this report we seek to engage in a National Seniors conversation with our own community about the experiences and needs of older LGBT people and how we might best respond to them. We also wish to contribute to conversations about these matters taking place in the context of the findings from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The Commission reported that older people receiving age care who have diverse genders or sexualities are at increased risks of abuse, isolation, and discrimination