Now Alastair is bringing his talent and experience back to Australia with “The Diversity Company”.

A postnominal well earned, Sergeant Smith MBE has served in the British Army since leaving Australia in 1998 and since the lifting of the ban on LGBT+ service personnel in 2000. He has worked tirelessly to ensure LGBT+ and all serving members of the British Armed Forces have equality and support alongside his normal military service in the Infantry, seeing operational experience across the globe in a career spanning over 25 years.

As well as the British Army and the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence, Alastair has spent the last several years working with some of the UK’s most wide-reaching LGBT+ Charities. Fighting With Pride has made leaps and bounds in UK parliament to seek apologies and reparations for the service men and women of the UK armed forces who were hounded, investigated, imprisoned, and discharged for simply being LGB or T. Diversity Role Models is a UK based charity working in schools across England to tackle homophobia, biphobia and transphobia by simplifying the understanding of what diversity actually is and encouraging students to discuss and understand how they can make a difference.

From the above work, Alastair, along with his family, Jeanette and David Bishop of Mount Barker, South Australia, have set up their own company spanning Australia, the United Kingdom and all in between, to guide and support companies, businesses, organisations, employers and employees in ensuring they comply with both federal and state equality laws and policies and run interactive lessons and discussions with all audiences on ‘simplifying diversity understanding’.

“When I first came out as gay at school, the atmosphere and understanding was terrifying. How could I fight for my equality and understanding when I didn’t even understand it myself. It ultimately forced me back in the ‘closet’ for many years and joining the Army was a way of demonstrating that I could still be an active part of society despite who I was. Since the ban was lifted in the UK armed forces in 2000, I have started to understand the communities I am part of and can see how the impact the lack of understanding people have looking in from the outside causes the most conflict for all diverse communities. The work I have done with Fighting With Pride and Diversity Role Models has allowed me to see how we can simplify the information and allow the doors to open for frank and honest conversations. There is very little that offends and shocks me, and from that I can lead a dialogue to bring all styles of audiences to the floor”.

Alastair Smith MBE was born in Nowra, NSW in 1980 and has lived in both NSW and SA before moving to England in 1998 where he joined the Second Battalion the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment. His above history in diversity earned him the Most Ordinary Member of the British Empire Medal in the Kings first New Years Honours list in 2023.

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