Fridae

Most LGBTQ+ parents and carers in an Australian survey said their household was happy. The October report also records discrimination and some positive experiences with the services families use.

One parent described a conversation with Medicare staff who asked for a child's mother's name. The reply was that “our son doesn’t have a mother and has two fathers”. Staff apologised. The parent described a friendly, accepting conversation. That account sits among the responses in Thriving Families, Unequal Burdens, by Nicole L Asquith, Ron Mason and Ash Barnes, developed with Rainbow Families Australia.

Its survey was open online from November 2025 to March 2026. Researchers could use 1,295 responses in their analysis. People chose to take part, so the findings describe this sample rather than showing how common an experience is across all Australian LGBTQ+ families. The report urges caution with small state and rural samples.

The household-happiness question had 1,127 answers. Of those, 87.3% agreed or strongly agreed that their household was happy. The question about children had 1,126 answers, with 92.7% agreement that the children were happy. Adults were giving their view of their children's happiness.

A separate item concerned exclusion, bullying or discrimination experienced as LGBTQ+ parents. Out of 990 answers, 37.7% reported these experiences and 13.8% were unsure. The report gives no timeframe for those experiences.

The authors want services to improve their forms, communication and staff training. Centrelink and Medicare, they say, should explain their processes more clearly for different family structures. For employers, the request is to check who gets parental leave. They want policies to explicitly include non-birth parents, as well as parents through surrogacy, adoption and foster care.

Federal protection should also cover children when discrimination targets a parent's sexuality or gender identity, the report says.