LGBTIQ+ workers in Australia continue to experience significantly higher levels of discrimination, harassment and exclusion in the workplace, according to new national research.
The latest Inclusion@Work Index 2025–2026 from Diversity Council Australia found that 46% of LGBTIQ+ employees had experienced discrimination and/or harassment in the past year. By comparison, 26% of non-LGBTIQ+ workers reported the same, meaning queer workers remain around 1.5 times more likely to face this kind of behaviour on the job.
The findings also suggest the situation is getting worse rather than better. In the previous Inclusion@Work Index 2023–2024, 39% of LGBTIQ+ workers reported discrimination or harassment, marking a clear increase over time.
Diversity Council Australia is one of the external inclusion organisations the ABC has recently cut ties with. The body is widely regarded as Australia’s leading independent peak organisation for diversity and inclusion.
Drawn from a nationally representative survey of around 3,000 workers, the Inclusion@Work Index tracks experiences of inclusion and exclusion across Australian workplaces and examines how those experiences connect to wellbeing and organisational performance. While discrimination across the broader workforce has declined slightly overall, the data shows LGBTIQ+ employees continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden.
The report also highlights the impact of everyday exclusion, not just overt discrimination. Nearly four in 10 LGBTIQ+ workers said they had been left out of workplace social activities, while others reported being ignored or subjected to assumptions about their abilities.
Although these behaviours are often minimised or dismissed as minor, the research links them to poorer mental health, lower job satisfaction and a greater likelihood that workers will leave their jobs.
The findings are particularly relevant in light of the ABC’s recent decision to end its memberships with ACON’s Pride in Diversity programme, the Australian Disability Network and Diversity Council Australia after reviewing its external partnerships.
ACON’s Pride in Diversity programme is a national membership-based initiative that helps employers improve LGBTQ+ inclusion through training, advice and benchmarking tools. Among those tools is the Australian Workplace Equality Index, which measures and compares how organisations are progressing on inclusive workplace culture and policy.
The ABC has said the partnerships were “no longer providing sufficient value” and has emphasised a renewed focus on editorial independence.
But the latest data from Diversity Council Australia underlines why those workplace inclusion programmes matter. For many LGBTIQ+ employees, exclusion is not abstract or occasional. It remains a regular part of working life.
