La Trobe University > Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society > Our work > LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing > Out in suburbia

Out in suburbia

Improving LGBTQ wellbeing and inclusion in outer suburban Australia

Are you LGBTQ+, 18+, and live in the outer suburbs of Sydney, Melbourne or Hobart?

Help shape how local governments and community organisations support LGBTQ residents!

Interview me

Out in Suburbia is a qualitative study exploring LGBTQ identity and experiences, community and belonging, and challenges in outer suburbs.

2026-2028

LGBTQ people living in Australia's outer suburbs experience significant barriers to wellbeing. This project aims to understand how living in outer suburban areas shapes LGBTQ belonging and inclusion, how local government policy and action impacts LGBTQ wellbeing and community connection, and how these experiences can be improved.

Expected outcomes of the project include identifying approaches to LGBTQ-inclusion in outer suburban areas that can be translated into policy that enhances local government responses to diversity and inclusion and promotes social cohesion and suburban liveability.

Who is eligible?

We're hoping to speak to LGBTQ+ people aged 18 and over, living in the following outer suburban local government areas:

Melbourne

Wyndham, Melton, Hume, Mitchell, Whittlesea, Nillumbik, Yarra Ranges, Cardinia, Casey, Greater Dandenong, Frankston

Sydney

Sutherland, Campbelltown, Camden, Liverpool, Fairfield, Cumberland, Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown, Hills, Hornsby, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury

Hobart

Kingborough, Glenorchy, Brighton, Sorrell, Clarence

What will I be asked to do?

If you are selected to take part in this study, we will ask you to complete an interview. The interview will take 60-90 minutes of your time. This can be done in person in your suburb, or online.

If you decide to complete the interview in-person, we will arrange a meeting point and time, and ask you to take us on a walk through your suburb, identifying key locations significant to you. We will discuss the walking route when we meet and confirm that the spaces to be visited are safe and accessible (i.e., no private residences, bushlands, or creeks) and include bathroom stops along the way. We are calling this a ‘go-along interview’.

If you decide to complete the interview online, we will ask you to annotate a map of your home suburb, either physically on paper or on Google Maps, identifying key locations significant to you. We are calling this a ‘virtual interview’.

What are the risks?

The interview topics will cover your LGBTQ identity, experiences, challenges, and feelings of connection, belonging, safety, comfort, and wellbeing. The interview topics may raise feelings of distress. If you do experience distress, we will direct you to LGBTQ-affirming counselling and support services. You may also decide that you do not want to be part of the study.

What will happen to information about me?

As part of your expression of interest questionnaire, we will ask questions that help us understand more about you, your life, and your experiences in your local area. We will collect information about you in ways that will reveal who you are, but that information will be stored confidentially.

If you are selected to participate in a confidential interview, we will only publish information about you in ways that will not be identifiable in any type of publication from this study. The storage, transfer and destruction of your data will be undertaken in accordance with La Trobe University’s Research Data Management Policy. The personal information you provide will be handled in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

Do I have to participate?

Being part of this study is voluntary. If you want to be part of the study, we ask that you read the participant information and consent form (Word) carefully. If you decide not to participate, this won’t affect your relationship with La Trobe University or any other listed organisation.

Further info

For more information, please review our participant information and consent form (Word).

If you would like to speak to us, please contact Dr Sean Mulcahy, Project Manager: s.mulcahy@latrobe.edu.au or (03) 9479 8747

Social media tiles

Right-click or long press to save - share with your LGBTQ+ outer suburban networks!

Text ‘Show us aaround your suburb in MELBOURNE’ with the logos of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society and Western Sdyney University, and a painting of a green road sign reading ‘Outer Suburbs’, a magpie on a milk crate surrounded by dandelions wearing a rainbow bowtie, a PTV train, a wooden fence, and a damaged low brick fence with a built-in mailbox with a fan-folded rainbow flag and letters sticking out of it. The text is filled in with a page of the Melways showing Broadmeadows, Tullamarine, Sydenham, Reservoir, South Morang, Greensborough and Kangaroo Ground, and is decorated with blossoms and autumn leaves. The painting is signed ‘Jessie Willow Tucker 100% human art no gen AI’. A map of Melbourne with local government areas coloured in rainbow colours, with text ‘Are you LGBTQ? Are you 18 or older? Do you live in one of these areas? Wyndham, Melton, Hume, Mitchell, Whittlesea, Nillumbik, Yarra Ranges, Cardinia, Casey, Greater Dandenong, Frankston. Sign up to take part here: https://redcap.link/outinsuburbia’ with a QR code.

Text ‘Show us around your suburb in SYDNEY’ with the logos of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society and Western Sdyney University, and a painting of a green road sign reading ‘Outer Suburbs’, a bin chicken ibis wearing a rainbow bead necklace pecking chips out of a rainbow-striped paper cup, surrounded by clover, next to a traffic cone and a depiction of the Australian Light Horse Sculpture Parade, on a background of criss-crossed freeways. The text is filled in with a section of the Sydways showing Mulgoa through to Parramatta, Castle Hill down to Liverpool, and is decorated with red bottlebrush. The painting is signed ‘Jessie Willow Tucker 100% human art no gen AI’. A map of Sydney with local government areas coloured in rainbow colours, with text ‘Are you LGBTQ? Are you 18 or older? Do you live in one of these areas? Sutherland, Campbelltown, Camden, Liverpool, Fairfield, Cumberland, Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown, Hills, Hornsby, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury. Sign up to take part here: https://redcap.link/outinsuburbia’ with a QR code.

Text ‘Australia’s largest national survey of LGBTIQA+ health and wellbeing. LGBTIQA+? Private Lives 4 https://tinyurl.com/PrivateLives4 Take the survey!' with a QR code, the logos of the Pride Research Collective and the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University, and a design of a crowd of silhouetted people in a rainbow colour gradient.A map of Hobart with local government areas coloured in rainbow colours, with text ‘Are you LGBTQ? Are you 18 or older? Do you live in one of these areas? Kingborough, Glenorchy, Brighton, Sorrell, Clarence. Sign up to take part here: https://redcap.link/outinsuburbia’ with a QR code.

Associated publications

The Out in Suburbia team is working on publications based on the findings from the study. These will be added to this webpage as they are published online. If you cannot access them via the links below, please contact arcshs@latrobe.edu.au.

Out in Suburbia: Associations between residential location, mental health, and community connectedness among LGBTQ Australians

This article critically examines the contemporary applicability of homonormativity in understanding LGBTQ experiences in outer suburban Australia. Findings reveal that LGBTQ people in outer suburban Australia experience higher psychological distress and suicidal ideation compared to their inner suburban and rural counterparts. Additionally, they report lower levels of connection with LGBTQ communities, indicating a dearth of supportive resources in these areas.

Differences in LGBTQ young people’s mental health, wellbeing, and community involvement by residential location

Residential location can significantly impact the mental health, wellbeing, and community involvement of LGBTQ young people. While research has explored geographical differences in LGBTQ adult wellbeing, limited knowledge exists regarding LGBTQ young people’s experiences. Using a large Australian cross-sectional survey of 6,620 LGBTQ individuals aged 14–21, this study examined the associations between residential location and wellbeing outcomes.

Meet the project team

  • Ruby Grant (she/her) is a leading sociologist specialising in LGBTQ wellbeing, whose research offers novel insights into the complexities of identity, community, and health within a regional context.
  • Andrew Gorman-Murray (he/they) is a highly active researcher with global recognition in geographies and planning in relation to sexualities and genders, and changing spatial experiences of home, work and mobility.
  • Adam Bourne (he/him) is a globally leading public health researcher specialising in LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing.
  • Sean Mulcahy (he/him) is a socio-legal researcher with extensive experience on LGBTIQA+ inclusion initiatives in local government.

Partners and funding

Out in Suburbia is being delivered in partnership with Western Sydney University and is funded by the Australian Research Council (DP260100756).