Transgender rights in Australia have legal protection under federal and state/territory laws, but the requirements for gender recognition vary depending on the jurisdiction.[1] For example, birth certificates, recognised details certificates, and driver licences are regulated by the states and territories, while Medicare and passports are matters for the Commonwealth.[2]
Changing legal gender assignment for federal purposes such as Medicare and passports requires only a letter from a treating medical practitioner.[2] By contrast, most states and territories impose additional requirements for gender recognition that have been criticised by the Australian Human Rights Commission and LGBT advocates.[2] This includes requiring the person to undergo sexual reassignment surgery and, in most jurisdictions until 2018, to divorce if married.[1] Advocates argue that marital status and surgery requirements are irrelevant to the recognition of a person's sex or gender identity, and instead should rely on their self-identification.[2][3] The legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2017 had the effect of removing the requirement to divorce if one was already married. This took effect on 9 December 2018 unless the state or territory government has already removed this requirement beforehand.[4]
Gender reassignment surgery is available in Australia with the costs of some, but not all, treatments for transgender people covered by the national Medicare public health scheme. Between 2004 and 2017 transgender children required approval from the Family Court of Australia before being prescribed hormone treatment, although a series of rulings in 2013 and 2017 removed the need for court approval of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy where there is no dispute between a child, their parents and their treating doctors.[5]
^ ab"Concluding paper of the sex and gender diversity project". Sex Files: the legal recognition of sex in documents and government records. Australian Human Rights Commission. March 2009. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
^ abcdMcAvan, Emily (12 August 2016). "Why Australia's gender recognition laws need to change". Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
^Gleeson, Hayley (7 April 2016). "Gender identity: Legal recognition should be transferred to individuals, Human Rights Commission says". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
^"What do the same-sex marriage laws actually say?". News.com.au. 9 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. People who changed genders were previously unable to change sex on birth certificates and other official documentation if they were married, as state or territory governments could refuse to do this as it could be seen as facilitating a same-sex union. Many transgender people were forced to divorce if they wanted to officially change gender. From December 9 [2018], state and territory governments will no longer be able to block changes to birth certificates and other documents.
^Lane Sainty (30 November 2017). "Transgender Teens Can Now Access Treatment Without Going To Court, Following Landmark Decision". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 11 December 2017.
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