A central question for the exploratory Aboriginal and LGBTQ+ researcher led project ‘Breaking the Silence: Being Indigenous and identifying LGBTQ+’ (Breaking the Silence) is how provision of genuinely inclusive service responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people identifying as LGBTQ+ can be developed. This article presents the qualitative findings of this mixed-methods research project to show how organizational staff working in health, education and social support services in Western Australia consider the Aboriginal LGBTQ+ identity/experience. Analysis of the written, interview and focus group responses to a question about the relevance of LGBTQ+ identity show that these questions need to be considered and evaluated within diverse service cultures and philosophies of services. Staff views are diverse and organizational consensus on the relevance (or not) of LGBTQ+ identity needs to be the precursor before the development or consideration of changes to service delivery and models.

The lived experience of being LGBT+ and an Aboriginal person was a major focus of the mixed methods Breaking the Silence research project led by Aboriginal LGBT+ researchers. Aboriginal LGBT+ participants were invited to respond to a survey that canvassed how they were included and accepted within their own families, on social media, dating apps and the wider community. The analysis and discussion of the findings from the survey examine the issues of discrimination, racism, homophobia and what belonging to a community means for intersectional identities. The findings show that while participants do experience microaggressions and queer-phobia, they also describe agency and positive experiences. The question is how these instances of resistance and disruption can be enabled to proliferate and (if appropriate) be supported collectively, to enable Aboriginal LGBT+ individuals to experience a sense of pride and belonging to communities at times and in spaces of their own choosing.