After tireless years of volunteer work, Anneke Deutsch has been recognised for her efforts in the areas of sustainability, housing and aged care.
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A former prosthetist with Ballarat Health Services, in 2004 Ms Deutsch spent six months setting up a prosthetics and rehab facility in the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati.
But since retiring, the 61-year-old feels she has made the biggest impact, in particular for her volunteer work in the lesbian community, and has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her services.
Ms Deutsch has worked as a volunteer on the Hepburn Health Service LGBTQI+ aged care advisory committee, which received the first rainbow tick accreditation for aged care in Australia, and is now volunteering for the Matrix Guild of Victoria, a charity that supports older lesbians.
She is also the co-founder of Older Women in Cohousing Inc. (WINC).
She said the lesbian community had faced a lot of discrimination over her lifetime, including being closeted for fear of losing their jobs, not being able to name partners as beneficiaries and seeing friends lose custody of their children for being in same-sex relationships.
"I'm most proud of my service to older lesbians being recognised," she said.
"It's easier now, but still there are other battles that we must fight as same-sex attracted, lesbian-identified women."
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One issue Ms Deutsch is addressing is isolation in the lesbian community, via her work with WINC.
The organisation is creating a 32 home co-housing community in Castlemaine based on the principles of sustainability, accessibility and connectedness.
It will be inclusive of women from a diverse range of ages and incomes.
Ms Deutsch said she was "honoured and surprised" to receive the award.
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