Senior Constable Ben Bjarnesen joined the Queensland Police Service in 2007 and has served in Brisbane and outback Queensland, including the rural community of Roma where he spearheaded the development and implementation of the community support group, “Anything but Straight”. This group provides support, education and referral services to LGBTI clients and their families.

Ben is the coordinator of the Queensland Police Service LGBTI Support Network, which was developed in 2015 to support LGBTI Police Officers, staff members and their families. He is also the District Coordinator of the Queensland Police Service LGBTI Liaison Officer Program and in 2017 was named as one of the top 50 most influential and inspiring LGBTI Australians by Cosmopolitan Magazine.

  As a recipient of a fellowship from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, in 2017 Ben travelled to the USA, Canada, UK and the Netherlands researching ways for Police forces to enhance the way in which they respond to domestic violence incidents in the LGBTI communities. Ben is also a member of the newly formed Qld Government LGBTI Roundtable which will inform government engagement with LGBTI communities and provides a mechanism for communities to highlight issues, challenges and opportunities with Qld government agencies.