Queensland’s Department of Education is ending its membership of Pride in Diversity, the national LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion program run by ACON.
The department confirmed it had begun withdrawing from the initiative following a review of its external memberships, saying continued participation no longer aligned with its current requirements.
The decision comes amid a Queensland Parliament petition calling on the department to leave the program.
As of 1 September 2026, the petition had attracted 1,000 signatures. It remains open until 10 November.
Pride In Diversity Was A Staff Program
The Department of Education joined Pride in Diversity in 2018 and was confirmed as a Platinum Employer in the 2026 Australian Workplace Equality Index.
Pride in Diversity supports employers with LGBTQ+ workplace policies, staff training, employee networks and inclusion strategies. It also administers the Australian Workplace Equality Index, which benchmarks participating organisations.
Despite claims in the petition that the department’s membership influenced classroom content and student activities, the department has confirmed its participation was focused on employees and workplace inclusion.
Its own Proud at Work strategy similarly describes a workforce initiative designed to improve the safety, wellbeing and engagement of LGBTQ+ employees.
It was not a student education program.
Petition Targeted The Department’s ACON Membership
The petition, launched by Queensland mother Nerissa Pace, argues that the department’s relationship with ACON lacked transparency and should be ended.
As of 1 September, the Queensland Parliament website recorded 1,000 signatures. Queensland residents can continue signing it until 10 November 2026.
The petition cites a survey of 1,072 Australian parents, including 190 from Queensland, to claim widespread concern about the department’s relationship with ACON.
However, publicly available information about the survey’s methodology, recruitment process and independence appears limited, making it difficult to assess how representative those findings are.
The petition also uses language such as “transgender ideology” and claims the program influences schools.
Pride in Diversity, however, describes its work as focused on employment practices and workplace inclusion rather than classroom teaching or student education.
The department has also rejected the suggestion that its membership constituted a student program.
Department Had Been Recognised For Trans Workplace Inclusion
The department’s confirmed 2026 Platinum project examined the workplace experiences of trans and gender-diverse employees.
The initiative was developed after the department identified gaps in workforce data capturing the experiences of trans and gender-diverse staff.
It gathered employee experiences to improve the department’s understanding of inclusion, safety and visibility within its workforce.
The findings were intended to inform resources and practices for managers, human resources teams and other employees.
The project also supported the department’s efforts to ensure its workforce reflected the students, families and communities it serves.
Pride in Diversity says its broader purpose is to reduce workplace exclusion, invisibility, homophobia, transphobia and stigma.
LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion Faces New Scrutiny
The department has not said Pride in Diversity breached any law or departmental policy.
Instead, it says the decision followed a broader review of external memberships and that continued participation no longer met its current requirements.
The department has also not publicly confirmed that the parliamentary petition caused its decision.
For LGBTQ+ employees, however, the withdrawal raises questions about what will replace the program’s training, benchmarking and inclusion support — particularly after the department was recognised nationally for its work in this area only months ago.
It remains unclear whether the department will continue participating in the Australian Workplace Equality Index or how leaving Pride in Diversity will affect its Platinum Employer status.
The department has also not detailed whether its existing Proud at Work strategy and other LGBTQ+ workplace initiatives will continue unchanged.
Those answers will help determine whether the withdrawal represents a change in external membership alone or a broader shift in the department’s approach to LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.
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