LGBTIQA+ inclusion
UWA is committed to LGBTIQA+ inclusion and support. We have a proud history of support and allyship for the LGBTIQA+ community, and in 2002 pioneered the Ally Program, which has subsequently been adopted by universities across Australia and beyond.
Today, UWA’s commitment to LGBTIQA+ inclusion is reflected in ongoing education, advocacy, and visible allyship on campus and in the wider community.
The University of Western Australia is committed to LGBTIQA+ inclusion and support. UWA has a proud history of support and allyship for the LGBTIQA+ community, and in 2002 pioneered the Ally Program which has subsequently been adopted by universities across Australia and beyond.
Today, UWA’s commitment to LGBTIQA+ inclusion is reflected in ongoing education, advocacy, and visible allyship on campus and in the wider community. UWA is a proud member of Pride in Diversity and flies the Pride flag in front of Winthrop Hall throughout much of the year.
LGBTIQA+ Advisory Group
The LGBTIQA+ Advisory Group supports the inclusion of LGBTIQA+ staff and students at UWA. It acts a body of expertise on policy, safety, inclusive teaching and learning, and wellbeing, primarily through the lived experience of its members. This group coordinates the University’s Pride and Ally Network.
The executive sponsor of the LGBTIQA+ Advisory Group is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Operations) Selina Torrance; the Co-Chairs are Dr Ness Vaughan and Mr Aidan Ricciardo.
Ness Vaughan (they/them)
Senior Lecturer, UWA Medical School; Co-Chair, LGBTIQA+ Advisory Group
Ness Vaughan is a Senior Lecturer and Community Engagement lead with the Medical Education Unit at UWA Medical School. Their work focuses on health equity, LGBTIQA+ inclusion, and socially accountable medical education, amplifying the voices of people who experience barriers to safe, inclusive healthcare.
As a neurodivergent, trans non-binary person, Ness brings lived experience to their role as Co-Chair of the LGBTIQA+ Advisory Group, and the UWA representative for Higher Education Australia Pride Practitioners WA.
Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work at UWA is about so much more than “awareness”, as we push for greater visibility and a sense of belonging within our wonderfully diverse UWA community. LGBTIQA+ people have particular barriers to safety and equity, whether that’s a lack of gender-neutral bathrooms, feeling safe on a train, seeing ourselves in curriculum, or the gender pay gap, which is even greater for trans people than cis women. Knowing that a service is on UWA’s website is one thing, but seeing people who are part of a community, seeing there’s an organisational commitment to equity and inclusion, is much more powerful.
Ness Vaughan (they/them)
LGBTIQA+ Inclusion Initiatives
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All-gender bathrooms
All-gender bathrooms are available across our campus in the following locations:
- Building 226, Electrical and Electronic Engineering (ground floor)
- Reid Library (first floor)
- Beasley Law Library
- Neil Donaldson Pavilion (UWA Sports Park)
- Building 650, Biomedical Research Facility (Shenton Park Field Station)
More all-gender facilities will be introduced across our campuses as buildings are built and redeveloped.
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Curriculum queering
Many of our teaching staff are engaging in the development of curriculum, educational materials and learning spaces that are more inclusive for the LGBTIQA+ community, known as curriculum queering. This involves greater diversity in how people are represented, challenging stereotypes and increasing classroom safety. This happens through all areas of learning: for example, modelling of language in classes, case studies that show diverse relationships, and embedding authentic representations of LGBTIQA+ people in a way that reflects diversity as a valued and integral part of our community.
The UWA Medical School’s approach to including community members in growing LGBTIQA+ diversity in case-based learning is being used as a framework by universities across Australia and New Zealand, influencing the way future health professionals are trained.
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Affirmed/Preferred names and pronouns
UWA staff and students can update their names and pronouns to ensure they are reflected correctly across UWA systems, including in class lists, staff profiles and Microsoft 365 apps like Teams and Outlook. We encourage the sharing of pronouns as a way to show inclusion.
Students can update their preferred name via:
- studentConnect or
- change their legal name on their enrolment.
Staff can update their name and pronouns across UWA systems, including their:
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Welcome Here venues
Venues across campus are part of the Welcome Here project to become more visibly welcoming and inclusive for LGBTIQA+ people. Welcome Here locations include the Student Wellbeing Hub, UWA Medical Centre, Student Central and Student Offices, University Library, UWA Sport and UWA Nedlands Football Club.
Pride
UWA celebrates LGBTIQA+ pride and inclusion for students, staff and the wider community.
We celebrate IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia) and Wear It Purple Day. You can also visit our stall at PRIDEFEST Fairday each year. Our Pride community extends beyond the Crawley campus with staff and students taking part in the Albany Pride Festival, one of WA's largest regional Pride festivals, held each summer in Albany/Kinjarling.
UWA Sport’s LGBTIQA+ Allyship
UWA Sport is a national leader in LGBTIQA+ inclusion. In 2026, UWA Sport was named Sporting Organisation of the Year at the Australian Pride in Sport Awards, one of only six organisations nationally to achieve Platinum Tier. This builds on the 2024 Hyundai Sports Initiative of the Year Award, won for the UWA Sport LGBTIQA+ Allyship in Sport Program, a WA-first initiative supporting inclusive practice across UWA-affiliated sporting clubs.
Seeking Pride: UWA’s long history of LGBTIQA+ activism
Staff and students at UWA have a long history of LGBTIQA+ activism. The Student Guild's Homosexuality Information Department (as the Pride Department was then known), in its inaugural year of 1979, ran a campaign to encourage students to come out without fear on campus.
As part of these efforts, a phone-in on homosexuality was organised for new students during Orientation. Sexual orientation was included in UWA's Equal Opportunity Policy from 1993 onwards, nearly 10 years before Western Australia’s Parliament included it in the Equal Opportunity Act.
In 2001, UWA and the Student Guild conducted the ground-breaking Rainbow Project to discover the nature of staff and student attitudes towards diverse genders and sexualities. The results led to the formation of the Ally Program—a network of staff and students committed to creating an accepting and respectful environment for LGBTIQA+ staff and students. In 2002, UWA became the first Australian university to introduce the Ally Program, which has since been adopted by many other universities in Australia and New Zealand.
In 2016, we introduced our Transgender Policy to improve the experiences of transgender students and staff. In the same year, we became the first Australian university to undertake a study into the experience of UWA students with diverse genders and sexualities. The results and recommendations informed inclusion practices and strategic directions.
