Research framework
How we propose to answer the four questions: the sample, the sources, the coding, the interviews, the review and the limits. The advisory board will co design the final method before the research begins.
Just launched. We have published the research framework and opened expressions of interest for the LGBTIQA+ Advisory Board. The board does not exist yet. The people appointed will co design the research with us before it begins in March 2027. No findings have been published.
Status of this framework
This is a draft. It was published when expressions of interest opened for the LGBTIQA+ Advisory Board so that applicants can see what they would be shaping. The board will review and co design the method before research begins in March 2027, and the final version will be published with the report.
The procurement scan
The procurement scan is the central research task. It covers the published supplier diversity and social procurement policies of the ASX 50 and the major Commonwealth and state purchasing agencies, reviewed one document at a time.
The sample, snapshot date, documents searched and coding categories will be defined before the scan begins. Each entry will record the exact wording and the source date. The coding will distinguish:
- explicit recognition of LGBTIQA+ owned suppliers
- the verification a buyer accepts
- stated geography
- evidence of implementation
- information that is not publicly available
Where a document is silent, the finding is that LGBTIQA+ ownership is not stated in the documents reviewed. Silence will not be recorded as exclusion.
Ownership data
The ownership work will distinguish people who work in their own business from enterprises meeting a majority ownership definition. The 2026 Census describes people, not enterprises, so we will assess what its outputs provide before deciding whether separate modelling or a survey is needed. Any estimate of enterprise numbers will be presented as a range with its method shown.
International comparison
The comparison will set out what the United States and Canadian certification models do, what they cost, what they ask of owners, including identity evidence, and what does not transfer to Australia.
Interviews
Fifteen to twenty interviews with LGBTIQA+ business owners and five to eight with procurement and supplier diversity leads.
Participant information and consent will be prepared before recruitment. They will address identity information, optional questions, recording, quotations, reviewer access, withdrawal and the risk of identification through business details. Sexual orientation and gender identity are sensitive information under the Privacy Act. The first contact route will not require anyone to disclose sensitive information.
Review
The Aurum Foundation will review the research design and interpretation and provide intersectional analysis. Because Just Gold and the Foundation share a founder, the review will be described as related party review, not independent peer review. The scope, reviewer, review date and treatment of comments will be recorded on the method page.
Limits
A public policy scan can establish what an organisation says. It cannot, on its own, establish how consistently a policy is applied or whether any supplier has benefited from it. An interview can add an account of practice; one account is not a national pattern. The report will state these limits alongside its findings.
Data
Supporting data will be published where consent, confidentiality and licensing permit, on a standing data page that is updated annually.
