Victoria Police and LGBTIQA+ community news

Victoria Police employees donated plasma and blood on World AIDS Day in collaboration with Lifeblood.

The donation drive was an opportunity to celebrate the more inclusive rules for plasma donation which were introduced this year.

Victoria Police celebrated Trans Awareness with a variety of events. Police stations around the state held events and raised the trans flag.

At the Victoria Police Centre, the trans flag was raised with a guest speaker from the Executive Leadership Board and the Parents and Caregivers of Trans and Gender Diverse Children Network (PACTAG).

The Gender Equality and Inclusion Division presented Trans and Gender Diverse Awareness Training. This was delivered in partnership with Pride in Diversity.

The training focused on how employees can contribute to creating supportive workplaces for trans and gender diverse employees.

In addition, Gender Equality and Inclusion Division and Pride in Diversity conducted specialist LGBTIQA+ inclusion training for Human Resources professionals.

The training provided insights into how small changes to practice and process can impact attraction and retention of LGBTIQA+ employees.

​​Victoria Police attended the Shepparton Out in the Open Fair Day.

We hosted a stall to promote our LLO program, LGBTIQA+ employee networks and our LGBTIQA+ Community Safety hub.

​​Victoria Police attended the annual Better Together Conference in Adelaide. Better Together is the only national conference relating to LGBTIQA+ communities.

Victoria Police joined a panel including the Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ communities and Thorne Harbour Health.

The panel focused on the rise of app-facilitated violence against gay and bi men. This session was designed to educate LGBTIQA+ communities about this violence and advocate for improved responses around Australia.

Victoria Police celebrated Wear It Purple Day with a variety of events. Police stations around the state held events and raised the rainbow flag.

At the Victoria Police Centre, the rainbow flag was raised with a guest speaker from the Executive Leadership Board.

Gender Equality and Inclusion Division presented the first LGBTIQA+ Allyship Training at Victoria Police. This was delivered in partnership with Pride in Diversity.

The workshop strengthened participants’ skills in advocacy and allyship. It provided practical strategies to build safe, inclusive spaces, where everyone feels valued.

The session was held on Friday 29 August, to coincide with Wear it Purple Day. Employees attending in person were encouraged to wear purple to show their support to LGBTIQA+ youth.

In July 2025, Victoria Police presented to members of Many Coloured Sky.

Many Coloured Sky is an LGBTIQA+ organisation that supports LGBTIQA+ refugees, migrants and asylum seekers to Victoria.

The presentation focused on online safety, dating app safety, the LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officer Program, and the ways Victoria Police support LGBTIQA+ people.

Victoria Police celebrated International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) with a variety of events.

Police stations around the state held events and raised the rainbow flag.

LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officers (LLOs) attended the IDAHOBIT LGBTIQA+ Expo held by Geelong Council, as well as events in Kyneton, Benalla, Shepparton, Mornington, and more.

An online and in-person event was available for all employees to attend. It was themed around intersectionality and multicultural LGBTIQA+ communities.

A community organisation provided valuable insight into the experiences of multicultural LGBTIQA+ people. A Victoria Police employee also provided their lived experience as a multicultural LGBTIQA+ person.

We participated in the Bendigo Pride Festival. LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officers (LLOs) held a stall at the Pride in the Park event and celebrated with LGBTIQA+ community members and their allies.

Read more about our LLO program.

JOY 94.9 is a radio station dedicated to LGBTIQA+ communities.

On the last Tuesday of each month, we speak to JOY 94.9.

We discuss what we are doing to improve our relationship with LGBTIQA+ communities. We share upcoming projects, events and news relevant to LGBTIQA+ communities.

Victoria Police celebrated Trans Day of Visibility with a variety of events. We raised the transgender flag at police locations around the state. We did this in solidarity with trans and gender diverse people across the world.

The flag was also raised at the Victoria Police Centre. A member of our Trans and Gender Diverse Employee Network (TAGDEN), as well as Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent, spoke about the significance of the day.

An online event was available for all employees to attend.

A Victoria Police employee provided their lived experience as a parent of a trans young person. This offered valuable insight for all our employees.

We are dedicated to raising awareness of discrimination faced by trans and gender diverse people, both within our workforce and the wider community of Victoria.

As part of our Trans Day of Visibility celebrations, Victoria Police launched a new employee network.

The network is for employees who are parents or caregivers of trans or gender diverse people.

The aim of the network is to create a safe space for them to come together to meet to:

• share resources and stories
• increase visibility
• and advocate for improved supports and services.

The network will meet monthly.

Read more about our LGBTIQA+ employee networks.

We participated in the Daylesford ChillOut Parade and Carnival.

Police members marched alongside other emergency service members in the street parade. They then met with LGBTIQA+ community members and their allies at the Carnival.

We received an overwhelming amount of support from spectators.

Pride in Law is Australia's National LGBTIQA+ Law Association.

Victoria Police was pleased to be part of their panel to discuss family violence within LGBTIQA+ communities.

The panel was called ‘Family Violence in the LGBTIQA+ Community: Current Perspectives Panel’.

Assistant Commissioner Lauren Callaway (Family Violence Command) joined the panel. Thorne Harbour Health and Victorian Legal Aid were also on the panel.

The panel explored topics such as:

• how family violence presents within LGBTIQA+ communities
• the unique challenges and barriers to reporting
• preventative measures
• law enforcement responses
• legal interventions
• support systems available.

The audience was a highly engaged group of legal practitioners from across Victoria. Their work focuses on improving LGBTIQA+ inclusion across the justice sector.

We engaged in many meaningful discussions about the ways we can support members of LGBTIQA+ communities experiencing harm.

In February 2025, we held a careers information webinar tailored for members of LGBTIQA+ communities.

The webinar showcased the diverse career opportunities and support available to LGBTIQA+ employees at Victoria Police.

Current LGBTIQA+ employees answered questions from potential applicants.

This webinar forms part of our efforts to ensure our workforce is reflective of the wider community. It also reflects our ongoing commitment to improving LGBTIQA+ inclusion in the workforce.

On 9 February 2025, LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officers (LLOs) attended the Victoria’s Pride Street Party in Fitzroy.

It was a great opportunity for positive engagement with local LGBTIQA+ communities.

Read more about our LLO program.

LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officers (LLOs) joined the Midsumma Carnival celebration at Alexandra Gardens.

We engaged with many attendees and stallholders.

Read more about our LLO program.

LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officers (LLOs) from Leongatha, Wonthaggi and Morwell attended the Gippsland Pride Festival in Korumburra.

It was a great opportunity for us to engage with people from LGBTIQA+ communities from regional Victorian areas.

Read more about our LLO program.

Over 2024, we conducted LGBTIQA+ awareness training sessions for new and existing LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officers (LLOs).

This included regional areas, such as Horsham, Wangaratta, and Bairnsdale.

The training gives LLOs the tools and knowledge to support their local LGBTIQA+ communities. It also enables them to champion LGBTIQA+ inclusion in their workplaces.

We will continue to provide training to LLOs in metropolitan and regional areas.

Our LGBTIQA+ employee network VP Pride held its second annual Year in Review and Awards.

The Year in Review includes presentations from a range of departments. It showcases the work that Victoria Police is doing to support LGBTIQA+ communities.

The VP Pride Awards honour and recognise the employees who have made a significant contribution to improve LGBTIQA+ inclusion at Victoria Police.

Read more about our LLO program.

Victoria Police contributed to videos in a new e-learning course developed by the LGBTQ Domestic Violence Awareness Foundation.

The course, ‘See, Hear, Believe: Responding to DFV in LGBTQ+ Communities’, is designed for all Victorian front-line workers such as:

• police officers
• other emergency services
• family violence responders.

It highlights the complexities of intimate partner and family violence for LGBTIQA+ communities.

The course features:

• stories from people with lived experiences
• the perspectives of police and healthcare workers.

It aims to help front-line workers provide effective support. For more information, visit the DFV foundation.

We presented at Pride in Diversity’s Pride in Practice Conference at Marvel Stadium.

The presentation told the story about Victoria Police’s journey towards becoming an inclusive organisation for trans and gender diverse employees. We explained how we identified and implemented changes within the organisation.

The Pride in Practice Conference is the only national conference dedicated to advancing LGBTIQA+ inclusion in Australian workplaces.

The Victoria Police policy standards relating to hair for police members has been made gender neutral.

This means that the same policy will apply to all genders of police members and protective services officers.

The policy states that hair will be tied, or pinned back and worn close to the head.

To mark National LGBTIQA+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on 28 May, we published a new page about Family violence and LGBTIQA+ communities.

The page outlines the forms of family violence LGBTIQA+ people may experience, such as from an intimate partner, and birth or chosen families.

It also includes information about specialty support services.

Every three months, we publish a newsletter for LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officers (LLOs), called ‘The LLO-down’ (pronounced low-down).

The newsletter keeps LLOs up to date on what is happening in LGBTIQA+ communities, inside and outside Victoria Police.

It includes:

• upcoming days of significance and events
• policy and procedure updates
• emerging trends
• updates from the LGBTIQA+ employee networks in Victoria Police.

Read more about our LLO program.

We have reviewed the content on our internal Community Support Hub to ensure it is fit-for-purpose. This is to assist police members to support LGBTIQA+ communities across the state.

The refreshed content sets out best practice advice for supporting LGBTIQA+ communities, including:

• information about Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ communities and their relationship with police
• external support agencies
• the LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officer hub, which includes tools and information about the program.

We published the LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officer (LLO) Workplace Manager Support Guide.

We tailor the guide for Victoria Police managers. It gives them the tools to recruit and support LLOs, and gain a greater understanding of the importance of LLOs.

Supporting our LLOs in their role allow them to be more effective at serving LGBTIQA+ communities.

The guide includes:

• information about the relationship between LGBTIQA+ communities and police
• a breakdown of the LLO role
• how to support LLOs to perform their role effectively
• relevant resources
• points of contact for further assistance.

Read more about our LLO program.

Beats are public spaces where people, generally men, meet to engage in social and sexual activities. They can include parks, beaches, public car parks or public toilet blocks.

At the LGBTIQA+ Town Hall Event in 2021, we made a commitment to review and update our Victoria Police Manual - Policing beat locations.

This update was completed and the new policy came into effect in January 2025.

We developed the policy in consultation with LGBTIQA+ community stakeholders. It focuses on community engagement and human rights.

The policy provides guidance on:

• responsibilities when policing beat locations
• considerations when responding to offences committed against a person using a beat
• reporting of prejudice motivated crime (hate crime) and incidents against people who use beats
• considerations when responding to offences committed by a person using a beat

The policy is supported by a factsheet. It provides extra guidance and information to police members to understand beat locations.

For more information about the Victoria Police Manual, visit Policies, procedures and legislation.

The Victoria Police e-Referral (VPeR) system allows police members to electronically refer people to relevant support services.

Two new referral options for LGBTIQA+ communities are now available on the VPeR system:

• Q+ Law, which provides free, state-wide legal assistance for LGBTIQA+ people
• Pride in Place, which supports LGBTIQA+ people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or living in unsafe/insecure housing (in limited areas).

We contributed to the development of Victoria’s first whole-of-government LGBTIQA+ strategy.

The strategy is called Pride in our future: Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ strategy 2022-32.

The strategy provides the plan to drive equality and inclusion for Victoria’s diverse LGBTIQA+ communities, within all aspects of government.

Victoria Police has several actions under the strategy. We report on the progress of these actions on an annual basis.

Read Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ strategy and Annual updates.

We launched the LGBTIQA+ Liaison Officer (LLO) Community of Practice, and held its first meeting.

It brings together LLOs from a variety of regions, commands and ranks across Victoria to:

• be a centralised consultation group for the improvement of the LLO program
• be a central network for LLOs to communicate and share information
• circulate resources and information relevant to LLOs
• gather information around emerging trends, issues and potential risks
• develop relationships across Victoria to enhance service delivery.

The LLO Community of Practice will meet quarterly.

We are working to improve the way we record trans and gender diverse in our databases.

This includes:

• developing a way for members of the public to request to change their details
• guidance for police members to process the requests.

If you are trans or gender diverse and wish to change your name and/or gender on Victoria Police’s databases, please email LLO-Coordinator-MGR@police.vic.gov.au.