06 December 2011 Media Release from LGBTI Health Alliance
The new LGBTI Working Group for the Department of Human Services met for the first time today, with Intersex, Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay representatives from around the country. The Minister, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, told the group she wants them to identify how service delivery to LGBTI Australians can be improved by identifying the key issues they face and how best to address them.
National LGBTI Health Alliance Chair, Paul R Martin, welcomed the Department’s initiative in setting up the first such Working Group at a Commonwealth Government level as part of its commitment to community engagement. “As Minister for Social Inclusion, Ms Plibersek has demonstrated her very real commitment to having all Australians, including LGBTI Australians, feel valued and having the opportunity to fully participate in the life of our society, by setting up this group,” Martin said.
“The National LGBTI Health Alliance recommended to the Minister a number of our members to be on the Working Group, following an expression of interest process. We thank all those who volunteered to be on the Group,” Martin added.
The Department of Human Services has the largest footprint of all Commonwealth Government departments, with the addition of Centrelink, Medicare, and CRS Australia on 1 July 2011, as well as delivering payments and other services on behalf of at least nine other government policy departments. As part of the Minister’s fundamental commitment to community engagement and social inclusion, the Department is looking to engage with LGBTI communities about any issues they’ve encountered in service delivery. Furthermore, while DHS is not responsible for policy in many important areas, its delivery of services provides important information that can inform policy.
“We are confident that this exercise will make a real difference to LGBTI Australians who are experiencing disadvantage in many areas of life,” Martin said, “such as employment, housing, appropriate health care, and access to services that really understand their unique needs.”
Contact:
Paul Martin, Chair, 0407 376 540, (07) 3017 1791
Sujay Kentlyn, Health Policy Officer, 0417 624 749; 02 8568 1126
