Private Lives publications

Private Lives is a series of national surveys of the health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Australians. The first Private Lives was released in 2006, and was, at that time, the largest survey of its kind conducted anywhere in the world.

The project is managed jointly by Rainbow Health Australia and the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) La Trobe University.


Private Lives 3 logo on design of fanned rainbow cards

Private Lives 3

2020

A national survey of the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ people in Australia

Adam O. Hill, Adam Bourne, Ruth McNair, Marina Carman and Anthony Lyons

View the full list of Private Lives 3 publications.


Green background with 'male', 'female' and hybrid bathroom-door-style pictograms

A Closer Look at Private Lives 2

2015

Addressing the mental health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Australians

William Leonard, Anthony Lyons and Emily Bariola

A Closer Look at Private Lives 2 (PDF, 2.6MB)

A Closer Look at Private Lives 2 is a companion to the second Private Lives report, released in 2012. This companion report focuses on the mental health and wellbeing of LGBT Australians. It relies on the mental health data from Private Lives 2 and looks, in detail, at variations in psychological distress and resilience between LGBT and mainstream communities and variations within LGBT communities according to gender identity, sexual identity, age and socio-economic status. It also looks at the relationships between LGBT Australians mental wellbeing and their experiences of heterosexist discrimination, drug use, LGBT and mainstream community engagement, and health service use.

The report concludes with an evidence-based LGBT mental health policy and program framework to guide the development of policies, programs and services aimed at promoting LGBT Australians’ positive mental health and their access to quality care.


Crowd of 'male', 'female' and hybrid bathroom-sign-style pictograms - orange and green on the left, grey on the right

Private Lives 2

2012

The second national survey of the health and wellbeing of GLBT Australians

William Leonard, Marian Pitts, Anne Mitchell, Anthony Lyons, Anthony Smith, Sunil Patel, Murray Couch and Anna Barrett

Private Lives 2 (PDF, 1.5MB)

In 2011, 3,835 GLBT respondents successfully completed PL2. The project was supported by beyondblue with funds from The Movember Foundation, with additional funds provided by the Victorian Department of Health and a La Trobe University faculty grant. The report provided a snapshot of LGBT Australians' everyday lives, including demographic data on diversity within LGBT communities and data on LGBT Australian’s physical and mental health, health service use, relationships, experiences of discrimination and community connections.


Dark red and green striped background with 'male' and 'female' bathroom-sign-style pictograms, holding hands

Private Lives

2006

A report on the health and wellbeing of GLBTI Australians

Marian Pitts, Anthony Smith, Anne Mitchell and Sunil Patel

Private Lives (PDF, 0.9MB)

The original Private Lives study was, at that time, the largest survey of its kind conducted anywhere in the world. It aimed to document aspects of the health and wellbeing of a large sample of GLBTI people in Australia, to explore the impact of factors such as homophobia, discrimination, family and community connection on health and wellbeing, and to investigate aspects of health service use.