LGBTIQ+ Domestic Violence Advocate Ben Bjarnesen To Recieve OAM
Image: Ben Bjarnesen. Image: Supplied
Queensland LGBTIQ+ community leader and domestic and family violence campaigner Ben Bjarnesen has been recognised in the Australia Day 2026 Honours List, receiving a national honour for his long running advocacy and grassroots work supporting victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Ben has officially been recognised for “For service to LGBTIQ+ communities of Queensland, and to domestic and family violence sector” in the 2026 award list.
He will receive an Order of Australia Medal in recognition of his work for the community. .
Ben Bjarnesen OAM
The recognition for Ben Bjarnesen comes as the Governor-General announced the Australia Day 2026 Honours List, which includes 949 Australians across the Order of Australia (General and Military Divisions), meritorious awards and distinguished and conspicuous service awards.
“On my second Australia Day as your Governor-General, I am delighted to announce the Australia Day 2026 Honours List,” the Governor-General said.
“Throughout 2025, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Australian honours system and the people who for the past half century have epitomised the best of Australia.”
“The qualities and accomplishments of this year’s honourees reflect Australia’s values for service, community, kindness, curiosity, tenacity and care.”
“Congratulations to everyone recognised in the Australia Day 2026 Honours List. As the list so vividly showcases, so many Australians continue to give the best of themselves across many endeavours, in the interest of others. It is rewarding to see an increase in the number of awards, which reflects more nominations and recognition of the many Australians who inspire the best in all of us.”
Speaking to The Star Observer about the recognition, Bjarnesen reflected on what the moment meant personally and for the broader queer community.
“I’m just country kid from a farming family in the Western Downs. I would never have thought something like this would be possible for me. But to be able to use my lived-experience to help create change for our communities makes me incredibly proud” he said.
“I feel so honoured by this recognition. I don’t see this as recognition of me alone, but of an entire community that has fought for visibility, safety and equality for a long time. My work around LGBTIQ+ domestic and family violence has always been about amplifying voices that are too often ignored, and this honour feels like a powerful acknowledgement that those voices, and those lives, matter. I’m deeply grateful, and honestly still a little overwhelmed.”
Bjarnesen said the news landed unexpectedly while he was working.
“I was at work when the email came through, and I was completely taken aback. I was sworn to secrecy, so I had to sit with the news quietly for a while before I could share it today.”
The honour also arrives following Bjarnesen stepping down from the Managing Director role at the LGBTQ Domestic Violence Awareness Foundation, which he founded in 2020, after years of visible public advocacy and awareness raising work, including campaigns that helped put LGBTIQ+ domestic and family violence on the national agenda.
But Bjarnesen said the next chapter is not a retreat, it’s a continuation.
“Stepping down as Managing Director was never about stepping away from the cause” he reiterated.
“This honour reinforces my commitment to continuing the work, supporting LGBTIQ+ communities, strengthening responses to domestic and family violence, and driving systemic change.”
“I’ll remain closely connected to the LGBTQ Domestic Violence Awareness Foundation, while exploring new opportunities and expanding my focus on education, policy, policing and lived-experience advocacy. What’s next is continuing to push for a future where everyone, no matter their sexuality or gender identity, can receive safe, equal and inclusive support.”
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