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Successful recipients - LGBTIQA+ Sector Strengthening Program

Successful Victorian organisations and groups who have received LGBTIQA+ Sector Strengthening Program Grants.

About the program

The LGBTIQA+ Sector Strengthening Program is a new Victorian Government initiative that supports sustainable service delivery and growth of the LGBTIQA+ community sector.

The program aims to increase the capacity of LGBTIQA+ groups and organisations to deliver critical supports and services to Victorian rainbow communities.

In 2024-25, the program provided grants of up to $100,000 to invited organisations from a total funding pool of $800,000. Funded projects will be delivered between April 2025 and June 2026.

Successful recipients

We are excited to announce the following successful recipients and projects:

Flat Out Flat Out’s Beyond Bricks and Bars program will continue their Rapid Response Outreach work, with the aim of providing critical early intervention and prevention focused support to TGD community at risk of incarceration, recently remanded, facing criminal charges or having frequent contact with police.

Gippsland Pride Initiative Gippsland Pride Initiative will redevelop content and deliver online versions of their LGBTQIA+ training packages, with the aim of creating additional income streams, and expanding the delivery and impact of GPI’s learning packages and support delivered via GPI’s Community Officer.

InterAction for Health and Human Rights InterAction will deliver a regional peer support retreat, with the aim of conducting community outreach and supporting people with innate variations of sex characteristics to access peer support services.

LINE Wangaratta LINE Wangaratta will support the activities of the local Pride Hub with the aim of delivering consistent and expanded services to LGBTIQA+ communities including peer support programs and social connection activities with a focus on priority cohorts.

Many Coloured Sky Many Coloured Sky will build stakeholder relationships in key sectors impacting on newly-arrived LGBTIQA+ people, and where they have identified significant and systemic problems, including housing, aged care, family support and local government services.

Melbourne Queer Film Festival MQFF will execute MQFF’s Audience Development Plan and Sponsorship Strategy, with the aim of strengthening MQFF’s online platform MQFF+, and their capacity to deliver the festival.

Minus18 Foundation Minus18 Foundation will deliver their Young Leaders Program, supporting 20 LGBTIQA+ youth over 10 months through 20 QLabs (Queer Labs), with the aim of helping participants strengthen their leadership skills, build connections and prepare for future roles in the LGBTIQA+ community sector.

Switchboard Victoria Switchboard will increase their organisational capacity to deliver training on LGBTIQA+ suicide prevention and postvention to LGBTIQA+ organisations across the state for free, with the aim of supporting holistic service delivery and engagement with LGBTIQA+ communities.

Thorne Harbour Health Thorne Harbour Health will expand their services to include Medicare-billed in-house counselling for LGBTIQA+ clients, with the aim of providing more affordable mental health care to LGBTIQA+ communities.

Transcend Australia Transcend will undertake foundational development work to increase their capacity to screen and support families who are not fully supportive of a trans/gender diverse young people in their care, as well as improve the accessibility of their services to support caregivers or young people living with disabilities.

Transgender Victoria Transgender Victoria will deliver Affirmation for All, a mobile social affirmation service that will travel to peri-urban, regional and rural locations within Victoria, to ensure that trans and gender diverse Victorians have equal access to free gender-affirming services.

Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation VACCHO will create and deliver Rainbow Mob inclusion kits to their 33 member Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCO), with the aim of supporting safe and inclusive practices at member ACCOs across the state.

Victorian Pride Centre The Victorian Pride Centre will expand the delivery of their existing ‘Telling it with Pride’ (TiPS) program to support more diverse LGBTIQA+ individuals to grow their skills and potential as storytellers and public speakers, with the aim of providing professional development and leadership opportunities for the individuals, further strengthen the VPC’s speakers bureau program to bring in revenue for the Centre, and strengthen community representation.

Switchboard - Rainbow Community Angels Project Switchboard will use funding to expand their Rainbow Community Angels service through workshops for LGBTIQA+ community and allies. They will train additional Angels, offer consultations, coordinate mobilisations, and present two impact reports to share successful strategies and tools.

Transcend - Stronger Families for Healthier Trans Futures Transcend will use funding to establish a drop-in peer support space at the Royal Children Hospital’s Gender Service, translate resources into languages other than English, and engage a consultant to support their development of training modules for their fee-for-service business model.

Thorne Harbour Health - Come Together: An LGBTIQA+ Women’s Health Hub Thorne Harbour Health will use funding to develop a centralised online hub for LGBTIQA+ women’s health that offers support, connection and referrals, has a curated repository of information and resources, and provides information on culturally safe services.

Victorian Pride Centre - Telling it with Pride: Speakers Program (TiPS Program) Victorian Pride Centre will use funding to launch the Telling it with Pride: Speakers Program (TiPS Program). This initiative is aimed at empowering and amplifying LGBTIQA+ voices through a co-designed, three-month mentorship program, with the goal to create a VPC Speakers Directory.

Many Coloured Sky - Building Statewide Support for LGBTIQA+ Refugees and Asylum Seekers Many Coloured Sky will use funding to work with LGBTIQA+ refugees and asylum seekers living in peri-urban and regional communities across Victoria, particularly in regions. The program will deliver mental health and peer support services, create information resources and support community engagement.

Melbourne Queer Film Festival - Capacity Building and Expansion Program Melbourne Queer Film Festival will use funding to employ a seasonal Marketing and Fundraising Coordinator to support the growth and expansion of the online MQFF+ platform to regional and rural communities.

Flat Out - Beyond Bricks and Bars - Rapid Response Project Flat Out will use funding to launch the Rapid Response Project, a program to work with early intervention services for trans and gender diverse people in the criminal justice system.

Rural Pride Australia - Rural LGBTIQA+ Community Safety Project Rural Pride Australia will use funding to create a co-designed LGBTIQA+ regional community safety framework, resources and practice model to respond to rising anti-LGBTIQA+ hate and vilification. The framework and resources will be underpinned by an online Community of Practice.

Zoe Belle Gender Collective (auspiced by Thorne Harbour Health) - Transfemme Expansion Project Zoe Belle Gender Collective will use funding to extend their Transfemme project for an additional 12 months, a website and resource series that promotes healthier relationships between trans women and cisgender men.

Inclusive Rainbow Voices (auspiced by Drummond Street Services), Strengthening Inclusive Rainbow Voices Inclusive Rainbow Voices will use funding to employ a Senior Project and Policy Officer to support the growth and sustainability of the organisation and position themselves as the peak body for LGBTIQA+ people with disability.

Transgender Victoria - Reaching New Communities Transgender Victoria will use funding to expand the operations of their new Affirmation Station site and support the expansion of the organisation’s network and operations into regional and rural Victoria.

Gippsland Pride Initiative - Empowering Gippsland LGBTQIA+ Progress Gippsland Pride Initiative will use funding to hire a LGBTIQA+ Community and Programs manager to support the implementation of their Rainbow Brick Road report, provide admin support, expand the organisation’s ability to connect with community and deliver support services, and reduce volunteer fatigue.

Equality

Updated 1 April 2025

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