GMHBA Makes LGBTIQA+ Inclusion the Standard of Care
How Queer Town is Helping a National Health Insurer Lead the Way With Consistent, Affirming LGBTIQA+ Practice
Industry: Health Insurance, Care Services
Services Provided: Organisation-Wide Training, Strategic Consultation & E-Learning
Impact: Embedded Inclusive Practice & Systemic Cultural Change
THE CHALLENGE
GMHBA is a health insurer and care provider with over 90 years of community service and one of Greater Geelong’s largest workforces. Through our consultation, we identified a clear challenge: staff across different teams possessed inconsistent levels of knowledge, confidence and language when it came to practicing LGBTIQA+ inclusion.
Internally, this meant colleagues had varied day-to-day experiences of inclusion. Externally, it risked undermining trust for LGBTIQA+ people already in vulnerable health situations. With hundreds of thousands of members and many interactions, where tone and language shape the experience, the team knew they needed to build a consistent foundation of skills and confidence across the organisation to ensure inclusion for members and patients alike.
our approach
For GMHBA, our goal was consistency. We wanted to ensure that every staff member, from the executive team, through to IT, finance and member experience teams, had the same language and tools to make inclusion authentic and impactful for colleagues, members and patients every day.
We designed a long-term strategy to up-skill GMHBA staff over time, creating a strong baseline and then growing confidence, layer by layer, through practice.
This approach included:
Tailored training as the foundation: Multi-session workshops for over 200 staff across departments, focused on terminology, pronouns, legalities and practical skills contextualised to roles, from phone-based member conversations to Medicare considerations for trans and gender diverse members.
Visibility and participation: Pronoun pins, Pride Month and IDAHOBIT celebrations embedded visible cues into daily culture, sparking authentic conversations and reinforcing inclusive practice.
Bespoke resources: Our LGBTIQA+ language guide published on GMHBA’s website and contributions to the Healthier Together podcast extended learning beyond workshops, creating shared language for both staff and members. Queer Town featured in the DEI Impact Report for GMHBA.
Policy review: Strategic consultation strengthened GMHBA’s People & Culture frameworks, including updates to Gender Affirmation guide.
Scaling through digital learning: GMHBA piloted and rolled out 450 licences of Queer Town’s digital short course, ensuring a consistent baseline across its large and regionally dispersed workforce.
“The value that Queer Town has brought to GMHBA has been truly specialised and advisory, leading from the front with their expertise. Their knowledge, training, and resources have not only strengthened our capability to foster inclusion for LGBTQIA+ employees but have also helped uplift our broader regional community through authentic, everyday interactions that create real impact.”
our impact
Through this multi-layered program, GMHBA has:
Scaled learning: More than 200 employees have been up-skilled through workshops, with 450 digital licences extending training nationally.
Growth in confidence: Post training surveys showed strong increases in staff confidence to use inclusive language and address challenges in their roles.
Cultural change: Visible signals like pronoun pins, IDAHOBIT and Pride Month activations turned learning into daily practice, sparking organisation wide conversations and normalising allyship.
Embedded inclusion: Leaders have better resources regarding inclusion, while People & Culture frameworks including Gender Affirmation Leave reflect contemporary best practice.
Positioned for the future: With consistent staff capability and updated frameworks in place, GMHBA is better equipped to extend its reach, upskilling its team members and strengthening safety for LGBTIQA+ communities more broadly.
Pictured: GMHBA employees piloting Queer Town’s LGBTIQA+ 101 Digital Short Course.
“Queer Town’s training was really entertaining and informative. I really got so much out of how to be an ally. Archie broke down terms and taboos in a simple and effective way and I definitely feel more confident in navigating conversations with others now, in my role and in my own life.”
“What I loved most about Queer Town’s digital short course was how it blended facts and definitions with real, authentic stories. It made learning about LGBTIQA+ experiences feel personal and relatable. The storytelling helped me truly understand the community’s diversity and left me feeling empowered and connected. ”
GMHBA’s work with Queer Town shows how consistency and confidence in LGBTIQA+ inclusion can be built step by step, over time. This long term approach leads to genuine cultural change, creating safer workplaces for staff and more trusted experiences for members.