Our political leaders must commit to scrapping these loopholes in the Fair Work Act and protecting LGBT workers' rights at work.

We need to change the rules that allow certain employers to fire staff based on their sexuality or gender identity.

There are over 200,000 jobs in Australia that a worker can be fired from if they come out at work.

The Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby has been fighting for LGBTI rights for decades. We believe that no worker should face the sack for coming out at work.

But under current laws there over 200,000 jobs in Australia - including at least 38,564 jobs in Victoria alone - that a worker can be fired from if they come out. These include teachers, school staff, doctors and health workers.

May*, a lesbian woman, was employed by a Christian welfare agency for two years when she was asked to resign after they found out about her relationship with her partner. She told the Lobby:

“I resigned and fell apart after having served that community for years. The fall out also meant I had to leave my church community. All of this resulted in mental health challenges, isolation, loss of faith, friends, purpose... I can’t express the devastating impact being asked to resign due to my sexuality had on my life. I lost everything - my vocation, faith, community - and had to rebuild myself from a very broken place.”

Workers like May deserve job security and fair rights at work. Our political leaders must commit to scrapping loopholes in the Fair Work Act to protect workers like May from workplace discrimination.

* Name changed in order to protect privacy