Inclusive Australia’s Social Inclusion Index for 2021-22 has revealed LGBTIQ+ Australians are identifying less with their own country.
The study finds that there's been a decline in identification with local communities and national values, which has steadily dropped since 2017.
Throughout the same period, Australians’ identification with foreign cultures remained unchanged, suggesting a specific disassociation with Australian values on “fairness, tolerance, respect, and equal opportunity”.
Victorian trans woman Amity Mara told SBS News that there's a false narrative in the country that all Australians get a “fair go”.
“I think a big part of Australian culture is these stories we tell and the myth of the ‘fair go.’
“What we’ve increasingly seen is for most queer people, in particular, for trans and gender diverse and brown and black trans and gender diverse people, is that the idea of a fair go is not our reality.
“Our employment rates are so much lower, the levels of violence we face is so much higher, our ability to access housing is so much lower.
"There’s so much discrimination in the rental market."
Ms Mara also says anti-trans political discourse is having a detrimental effect on the community.
“We’ve seen a real increase in hostilities towards our community.
“A classic example is what’s going on with the election right now, where there’s been severe attacks on trans people by politicians every other day.
“And we’ve seen that in the media over the last year.
Amity and some of her queer friends at a climate change protest in Melbourne.
A decline in Australian identification was experienced among First Nations peoples, people on low incomes and religious minorities, but the most affected group was the LGBTIQ+ community.
In May 2017, 28 per cent of LGBTIQ+ people reported identifying “very much” with Australia, dropping to 18 per cent in late 2021.
The study correlates the lower levels of identification with a decrease in levels of wellbeing.
According to the study, LGBTIQ+ people experienced some of the lowest levels of wellbeing (0.56 on a scale from 0 to 1) among the groups surveyed, in particular when it came to wellbeing related to future security.
Co-leader of the research Dr Kun Zhao from Monash University told SBS News there’s been a broad drop in Australian identification.
“We measure identification with Australia by asking people a series of questions including how close they felt to Australians, how much they identify (meaning felt a part of, felt love toward, had concern for) Australians, and how often they used the word "we" to refer to Australians.
“These questions come from a scale used in prejudice and social psychology research.
CEO of Inclusive Australia Andrea Pearman told SBS News that identifying with Australia was crucial for minority groups to feel included.
“Identification with Australia is an important part of promoting a socially inclusive society, where people care about and feel a sense of connection with others.
“Having strong social networks and sense of identity through belonging ie, to Australia or local community, is associated with better health, reduced levels of depression and anxiety, and improved wellbeing.
Ms Pearman says growth in activism may influence the upcoming election.
“We are also seeing a trend towards disillusionment as well as activism, which could be an indication that people are no longer content with the status quo and are increasingly willing to act to support disadvantaged groups, which may play out in the election.”
provides Australia-wide anonymous LGBTI support and can be reached through its online chat service or on 1800 184 527.
