Photo of a man and two women sitting on a couch

LGBTQIA+ seniors have limited choices for aged care

In this ABC report, Julie Peters, a trans woman, travels to Stockholm and around Australia to see what aged care options are available for LGBTQIA+ seniors, and finds them lacking. 

Published: 26 April 2024
  • national
  • 26 April 2024
  • ABC News

Catherine Barrett, the director and founder of Celebrate Ageing, a charity aimed at combating ageism, can also see the problem.

"For older, straight, and cisgendered people, you can basically pick a retirement village anywhere you like, but it's not the same for older queer people. They may be sharing a room or a wing or a space with a person who grew up believing that being queer was immoral and they may never have met a queer person," she said.

Dr Barrett says faith-based aged care facilities can seem particularly daunting.

"I think what happens for a lot of older queer folk is when they hear about a faith-based service, they become really quite concerned because there has been a track record of discrimination from the church," she says.

So, while there is some support, including via the Silver Rainbow project, there is more work to be done in Australia.