Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee
Inquiry into anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes in Victoria
Accepting submissions
The Committee will inquire into the scale and scope of anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes occurring in Victoria including the communication and recruitment methods of anti-LGBTIQA+ influencers and hate groups, current strategies to counter hate crimes, hate prevention initiatives, existing public and online safety initiatives, the role and responsibilities of social media and digital platform owners in preventing and responding to anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes, existing data regarding the prevalence and trends of hate crimes Australia-wide, the impact of hate crimes on diverse LGBTIQA+ communities, interjurisdictional strategies to combat hate crimes across borders and the relevant work for the Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities and relevant government advisory groups.
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Terms of reference
The terms of reference are instructions which explain what a committee has been asked to do, what topics it should focus on, and how its members will work together to achieve its shared goals.
On 18 February 2026, the Legislative Council agreed to the following motion:
That this House requires the Legal and Social Issues Committee to inquire into, consider and report, by 1 September 2026, on the scale and scope of anti-LGBTQIA+ hate crimes occurring in Victoria, including but not limited to —
(1) the communication and recruitment methods of anti-LGBTIQA+ influencers and hate groups that endorse anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes, including those creating and sharing online content steeped in racism, misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, far-right ideology and unhealthy masculinities;
(2) current strategies to counter anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes, particularly among young people and how these could be strengthened;
(3) current anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crime prevention initiatives, and how these could be strengthened;
(4) existing public and online safety initiatives supporting LGBTIQA+ community members who have experienced hate crimes, including how these supports could be strengthened;
(5) the role and responsibilities of social media and digital platform owners in preventing and responding to anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes;
(6) existing empirical data regarding the prevalence and trends of anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes Australia-wide;
(7) the impact of anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes on diverse LGBTIQA+ communities, including Rainbow Mob, people with disability, and multifaith and multicultural community members;
(8) interjurisdictional strategies and methods to combat anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes across borders; and
(9) the relevant work of the Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities, relevant government advisory groups, including but not limited to relevant community, health and law enforcement organisations to combat anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes.
Contact
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Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee
Parliament House, Spring Street
EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002