How many of us still feel afraid to hold a partner’s hand walking down the street? Our daily experiences, as well as our interactions with Government services, need to be seen and heard by those in power.

Equality doesn’t begin and end with legislation. Social equality is just as important.

But too often our experiences aren’t seen or heard by those in power.

We are calling on Government to partner with researchers to better understand the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people living in NSW and across Australia.

We know that LGBTI people continue to face significant barriers to full participation in public life.

At little cost to government, both the NSW and Federal Governments can follow the example of the United Kingdom by providing an online survey open to self-identifying LGBTI people over the age of 16. The UK survey saw over 100,000 people respond – the largest response to a survey of this kind in the world.

By partnering with university researchers, and using existing online infrastructure, Governments can collect quantitative data similar to ‘community consultation’ information collected for new projects and initiatives.

The data collected can also be used to compare experiences with our brothers and sisters in the UK.

This information must be put to use – and we expect Government to provide a comprehensive response in the form of an Action Plan to respond to issues raised by the survey data.