Bridge to Safety: New dedicated support for LGBTIQA+ refugees

9 Mar

For the first time, LGBTIQA+ refugees from Asia and the Pacific will be able to access dedicated support for priority processing in Australia’s humanitarian program.

This new initiative, Bridge to Safety, is led by Forcibly Displaced People Network (FDPN) — one of Rainbow Giving Australia’s grant partners — with Refugee Advice & Casework Service Centre (RACS) as the legal partner.

Why this matters

Many LGBTIQA+ people seeking safety are navigating systems that were not built with their realities in mind. Discrimination, family rejection, and unsafe processes can and do block access to resettlement and complementary pathways..

Bridge to Safety is designed to help close the gap between policy and lived experience — providing dedicated support to prepare and lodge humanitarian visa applications, and to access priority processing where it is available.

What Bridge to Safety does

Bridge to Safety offers practical, on-the-ground support for LGBTIQA+ people facing persecution, including:

Help to prepare and lodge humanitarian visa applications
Legal support through RACS
Dedicated assistance that acknowledges the specific risks and barriers LGBTIQA+ people face

“The program improves access to refugee protection for people who have been left behind for too long. It offers safety, dignity, and the chance to live without fear.” — Dr Renee Dixson

How you can support

If you want to help strengthen safety and pathways to protection for LGBTIQA+ people, you can support FDPN’s work and learn more about Bridge to Safety below.

Rainbow Giving Australia funds community-led organisations building safety, dignity, and belonging for rainbow communities — including grant partners working alongside forcibly displaced LGBTIQA+ people.