VPS LGBTIQ+ Pride Awards: Honour Roll

LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Action Plan 2022-25, Department of Transport

The DoT LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Action Plan 2022-25 is one of the Department of Transport’s most significant commitments towards inclusivity since its 2019 establishment.

The Action Plan has 5 focus areas:

1. A visible commitment by leadership to develop inclusive workplaces for LGBTIQ+ people and deliver on the actions in the LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Action Plan.
2. Progressively working towards inclusive systems, processes, and premises for LGBTIQ+ people (internal and external).
3. Creating a safe, inclusive working environment, where all staff members can fully participate and contribute, and removing the cultural, attitudinal and systemic barriers LGBTIQ+ people experience.
4. Increasing the representation of LGBTIQ+ people across DoT and ensuring LGBTIQ+ staff have equitable access to career development.
5. Making our transport services accessible and safe for LGBTIQ+ people (internal and external) and ensuring our commitment to LGBTIQ+ inclusion is visible to our Victorian community.

A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects Report, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

‘A History of LGBTIQ+ Victoria in 100 Places and Objects was commissioned by DELWP’s Heritage Victoria and developed in partnership with the Australian Queer Archives (AQuA). The first of its kind in Australia, it reveals the rich and diverse history of queer communities in Victoria. Looking back as far as the 1840s, the study identifies 100 objects, places and collections of significance to Victoria’s LGBTIQ+ communities, revealing the hidden histories of political activism, social life, entertainment and health. It brings to life iconic places like Val’s Coffee Lounge, the AIDS Memorial Garden, and Coriyule Homestead — home to two ‘lady squatters’ in the nineteenth century. The project involved extensive consultation with LGBTIQ+ communities and heritage professionals, and was informed by over 150 public submissions. This collaborative study provides a framework for statutory authorities and collecting institutions to preserve queer heritage.

East Region LGBTIQ+ Collective Pride - Diversity & Inclusion Pilot Project, Victoria State Emergency Service - Moe Unit

The East Region LGBTIQ+ Collective Pride, Diversity & Inclusion Pilot Project, has been developed by Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) Moe Unit Controller, Jason Clough. The project aims to raise awareness and support of LGBTIQ+ inclusion across emergency service agencies and the communities of Gippsland.

The program led and ran two Pride events in May 2022:

Inaugural Pride of Moe, held at the VICSES Moe Unit, aimed to promote networking and collaboration across local emergency services members and volunteers

LGBTIQ+ Roller Derby Cup Event, a partnership between the VICSES Warragul and Moe Units, aimed to provide a safe space for LGBTIQ+ and ally community members to connect, have fun, and network with local emergency services agencies.

The project created by Jason Clough has been instrumental in building relationships with our partner agencies, and importantly, building better relationships between these services and members of the Gippsland LGBTIQ+ community.

This is a new award category for 2022

GenSHED, a VPS wide initiative

GenSHED: A VPS-Wide Safe Space for TGD Folks accessible from the Innovation Network. A "virtual Roof" for initiatives connecting transgender, intersex, non-binary, gender diverse peers.

GenSHED is inclusive for all TGD folk and provides rooms for activities where VPS employees who identify can:

meet their peers

create and work on meaningful projects at their own pace, in their own time in the company of their peers

access information that is relevant to working equitably and safely within the VPS.

It is about nurturing fundamental characteristics that make us authentic, so that together we might connect, empower, and inspire each other, to be brave and courageously positive in the face of stigma and prejudice within a workplace setting.

DH and DFFH Pride Networks, Departments of Health, and Families, Fairness and Housing

This joint nomination of the Pride Networks of the Department of Health and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing recognises our roots in the former department and the work on shared events, consistency, and information sharing. The nomination reflects the continuing and exemplary collaboration between the networks in advancing LGBTIQ+ inclusion within their respective workplaces and the broader Victorian community. Both Pride Networks have proudly worked together in shaping a range of internal policy development, celebration of innovative and hybrid events, and advancing inclusion initiatives across the VPS.

Professor Euan Wallace - Secretary, Department of Health

Professor Euan Wallace has demonstrated outstanding commitment to LGBTIQ+ inclusion across the Department of Health and broader Victorian public health sector. Professor Wallace’s strong engagement and support of the Department of Health Pride Network has led to a range of visible inclusion initiatives and has driven increased understanding of the LGBTIQ+ community across the Department of Health.

Michelle Sheppard, Department of Transport

Michelle Sheppard, Senior Adviser - LGBTIQ+ Inclusion programs, Department of Transport (DoT), works tirelessly to raise awareness of the issues and barriers LGBTIQ+ communities face within the workplace, and to create and implement policy-driven remediations that build inclusivity within the Department of Transport portfolio workforce and our customer base throughout Victoria.

She has gone above and beyond the boundaries and duties of her role to connect and align disparate public service LGBTIQ+ working groups and help them achieve more together than they would have been able to separately. Her work, particularly regarding supporting gender affirmation, has attracted attention beyond the Department of Transport portfolio from further government entities and the private sector, resulting in greater awareness of the need to embed inclusive practices including facilities, expanded educational opportunities for workplaces, and better outcomes for the LGBTIQ+ community.

In 2020 and 2021 the VPS Pride Awards were cancelled while the Victorian Public Sector focused on management and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Public sector agencies were invited to submit nominations for people and activities conducted in these years to the 2022 awards.

Workplace Pride Initiative of the Year

Ally training and increasing the school's culture of inclusivity, Bendigo Senior Secondary College

Community Pride Initiative of the Year

Formal apology to LGBTIQ+ communities, Victoria Police

Change Your ID day, Department of Transport

_{In 2019 there were 2 winners in this category}

Pride Network of the Year

DET Pride, Department of Education and Training

Regional Pride Initiative of the Year

Social Justice Charter, GOTAFE

Executive Champion of the Year

Assistant Commissioner Neil Paterson, Victoria Police

Rainbow Cardigan

Rachel Cecilio, Department of Education and Training

Initiative of the Year

LGBTI Aboriginal Retreat, Department of Health and Human Services

Pride Network of the Year

City of Melbourne

Regional Event of the Year

Wear it Purple Day - Bairnsdale, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning; Parks Victoria; and Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources

Executive Champion of the Year

Kym Peake - Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services

Rainbow Cardigan

Jack Metcalfe, Department of Premier and Cabinet

Pride Initiative of the Year

Public Art in Geelong for IDAHOBIT, Worksafe Victoria

Pride Network of the Year

Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources

Regional Event of the Year

IDAHOBIT, Parks Victoria

Executive Champion of the Year

Nial Finnegan - Chief Executive Officer, Environment Protection Authority

Rainbow Cardigan

Jack Giles, Service Victoria

Pride Initiative of the Year

Rainbow Path, Department of Education and Training

Pride Supporter of the Year

Southern Rural Water

Pride Event of the Year

Pride Network Launch, VicRoads

Executive Champion of the Year

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, Victoria Police

Rainbow Cardigan

Loretta Williams, Department of Justice and Regulation