Rainbow Roadmap
Background and rationale
The Rainbow Roadmap is a framework developed by Proud2Play, in partnership with VicSport, that aims to empower sports organisations to create safe, affirming, and welcoming environments to enable LGBTQIA+ people to fully participate in sport and active recreation. With LGBTQIA+ people experiencing and witnessing high rates of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and discrimination in sport and active recreation settings, the aims of Rainbow Roadmap prepare sporting organisations to become rainbow ready and embed LGBTQIA+ inclusion into core business via practices, processes, and policies. The Rainbow Roadmap framework is a key component of Proud2Play’s Rainbow Ready program.
Launched in 2021, the Rainbow Roadmap is a comprehensive program that involves a 5-step plan focusing on:
- assessing an organisations current practices and policies concerning LGBTQIA+ inclusion in their organisation and sport
- undertaking education to increase knowledge of LGBTQIA+ inclusion
- undertaking community consultation to understand the needs and experiences of LGBTQIA+ people in their organisation and sport
- organisations engaging with LGBTQIA+ inclusion activities and practices
- enacting LGBTQIA+ inclusive practices across the organisation as part of core business.
The Rainbow Roadmap was created in response to the need for knowledge and resources within the sport and active recreation sector about LGBTQIA+ inclusion. This framework aims to address this gap by providing expertise and knowledge about LGBTQIA+ inclusion from grassroots to elite sport and building organisational capacity.
Outcomes and impact
To date, 8 sport organisations, 6 leisure centres and 20 community clubs have engaged in the program.
The Rainbow Roadmap provides sport and active recreation organisations with a clear overview about where they are at regarding LGBTQIA+ inclusion and where programs, strategies and policies may be needed to improve the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in their organisation. The first step of the framework involves an independent, external audit of the organisations policies and practice, which provides an impactful starting point for change. When combined with the community consultation of members, which can enable organisations to understand the positive and negative experiences of the community and their needs, organisational-specific strategies and work plans can be developed for implementation. Over 500 people have engaged with the consultation process.
Investment and funding
The Rainbow Roadmap was developed by Proud2Play staff in consultation with VicSport to support communities build LGBTIQA+ inclusion. Funding was then provided to VicSport between 2021-2023 to support smaller sporting organisations to undertake the program to further grow this initiative.
Current funding to utilise the Rainbow Roadmap is varied. While sport and active recreation organisations can self-fund the completion of the program, often funding comes from local or state government grants, which are either applied for by the local club or sporting body, or by Proud2Play. Being part of the Rainbow Roadmap enables the audit of the club or organisation’s current practices and policies, and the provision of training and ongoing support to the organisation from Proud2Play.
Enablers and lessons learned
Enablers
A key enabler of the Rainbow Roadmap is the strategic partnerships with VicSport, health organisations, and state government departments. This provides funding and program promotion via different networks that facilitate the delivery of the program to sport and active recreation organisations.
Lessons Learnt
During program delivery with organisations, early-established milestones are critical for creating accountability, building awareness and fostering a sense of achievement. Discussions focus on how LGBTQIA+ inclusion can be embedded into existing structures within organisations, as well as alignment with core business and strategic directions, policy, and practice within the organisation. The engagement of organisation members within the community consultation is a key strength, as this provides a voice to the broader community and enables organisations to strategically engage with their members to reduce risk and harm. The holistic nature of the program, which involves auditing the organisation as a whole and engaging with the broader organisations members and community (e.g. participants, employees, etc), is also a key enabler.
Greater results have been observed where the engagement in the Rainbow Roadmap has been organisation led and involved strong working group commitment to the process. Ensuring that the working group consists of diverse representation across an organisation supports the dissemination of information and knowledge throughout the organisation.
Last updated21 October 2026