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Submission re the Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020

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Senate Standing Committee on Education and Employment

Submitted online via aph.gov.au  

19 March 2021

To the Committee

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this submission regarding the Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020.

I do so as a long-standing advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community, and as a gay man who (barely) survived five years at a homophobic religious boarding school in Queensland in the early 1990s[i]and who hopes to help protect trans and gender diverse students from experiencing similar discrimination today.

Contrary to its name, this legislation is not about prohibiting the indoctrination of children, but instead appears to be motivated by prejudice against the gender identity and/or gender expression of trans and non-binary young people.

It is not about providing balance, but is instead aimed at banning the information these children need to grow up feeling safe and supported, and reach their full potential.

And it is not about ensuring all students enjoy an inclusive education, but instead seeks to erase trans and gender diverse kids. From the curriculum, and from the classroom.

These disturbing truths are revealed by Senator Hanson’s Second Reading Speech, where she spends almost half of its word count arguing against ‘gender theory indoctrination in schools’, which she claims ‘involves some teachers and schools pushing the idea that a child’s biological sex does not determine where you are male or female.’

Not only does Senator Hanson fail to understand the difference between sex assigned at birth and gender identity – and the existence of hundreds of thousands of trans and gender diverse Australians demonstrate that these two can and frequently do diverge.

But she also seems to believe that banning curriculum materials which mention said reality of gender diversity will somehow prevent children from becoming trans or non-binary in the first place (from the Second Reading Speech: ‘The preoccupation with gender identity by some teachers and schools is correlated with an increase in children identifying as transgender, which is why I say these educators are transgendering our children’).

I know from bitter personal experience that the consequence of a homophobic education, where the curriculum did not even acknowledge the existence of same-sex attraction let alone affirm that it was a valid sexual orientation, did not make me any less gay, but it did nearly cost me my life.

The same will inevitably be true for trans and gender diverse students should this legislation pass. The choice is not between whether a child is trans or non-binary on one hand, or cisgender on the other. The choice is between whether a trans or non-binary child is happy and healthy, or depressed and at significant risk of self-harm.

On this most basic of outcomes, our schools are currently failing. Badly. The recent findings of the Writing Themselves In 4[ii] survey indicate that, far from schools being overwhelmingly supportive environments where being trans and gender diverse is encouraged, in many, indeed most, there is either silence or active hostility.

From that report:

  • One-half (51.2%; n=1,953) of secondary school participants reported that trans and gender diverse people were never mentioned in a supportive or inclusive way;[iii]
  • Almost three-quarters of trans men (74.3%; n=278) and two-thirds of trans women (67.7%; n=46) and non-binary participants (65.8%; n=746) said that in the past 12 months they had felt unsafe or uncomfortable at their educational institution due to their sexuality or gender identity;[iv]
  • Only 41.0% (n=378) of trans and gender diverse participants in secondary schools reported being able to safely use their chosen name or pronouns in the past 12 months, while only 50.9% (n=469) were able to wear clothes that matched their gender identity;[v] and
  • Over seven-tenths (70.2%; n=2,579) of secondary school participants… reported hearing negative language about gender identity or gender expression sometimes or frequently in the past 12 months.[vi]

Many trans and gender diverse students are not thriving in these toxic environments. Nor are they being ‘created’ by overly-supportive schools and teachers. They are merely doing their best to survive despite the transphobia which far too often surrounds them.

There is one point on which I agree with Senator Hanson. In her Second Reading Speech, she declares that ‘Our children deserve an education that will allow them to reach their potential.’ Unlike Senator Hanson, however, I believe that this statement should apply to all students, and not just those who are cisgender.

Trans and non-binary children have the same right to learn, and grow, as any other child. As every other child. Our schools should be doing more to support them, not less. That includes increasing their visibility in the curriculum, rather than having all references to gender diversity erased because of discriminatory legislation proposed by an extremist Senator.

I call on the Senate Standing Committee on Education and Employment, and the Parliament more broadly, to reject this attack on some of Australia’s most vulnerable.

Recommendation: That the Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020 be rejected in its entirety.

Before I conclude this submission, I would like to raise two additional arguments, both of which militate for rejection of this legislation.

First, the Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020 needs to be seen in its wider context. In my view, it is merely one small part of a larger, dangerous and divisive culture war being waged right now against trans and gender diverse Australians.

The proponents of this culture war include organisations that were opposed to the right of all couples to marry irrespective of their sexual orientations, gender identities and/or sex characteristics. Having lost that fight, including through the 2017 same-sex marriage postal survey, they appear to have turned their attention to denying the fundamental rights of trans and gender diverse Australians, and especially trans and non-binary young people.

These organisations have found supporters in columnists, and media publications, that seem happy to publish attacks on the ability of trans kids just to be themselves.

Unfortunately, these organisations also appear to have found supporters in the Senate itself, with the passage of Senator Roberts’ motion number 1055, on Wednesday 17 March 2021. As well as seeking to reinforce the use of binary-only gender descriptors, it included the following concerning clauses (among others):

‘That the Senate notes that:

ii. broad scale genuine inclusion cannot be achieved through distortions of biological and relational descriptors,

iii. an individual’s right to choose their descriptors and pronouns for personal use must not dehumanise the human race and undermine gender.’

In response, I would submit that denying the existence of trans and non-binary people is a far greater threat to ‘broad scale genuine inclusion’. More importantly, a trans or non-binary person affirming their gender descriptors and pronouns does not pose any threat to any person who is prepared to accept and respect other people for who they are.

Nor does the use of diverse gender descriptors and/or pronouns ‘dehumanise the human race’ in any way. Indeed, I would encourage Senators who voted in support of that motion to reflect on exactly who was being dehumanised by its contents.

The anti-trans agenda has found even greater support among state and territory parliaments, including in my jurisdiction of NSW. The state leader of Senator Hanson’s Party has introduced his own legislation seeking to make life much more difficult for LGBTI students, and for trans and non-binary students in particular.

As I have written elsewhere,[vii] the Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020 is:

‘A Bill that seeks to prohibit any and all teaching that someone’s gender identity can be different to the gender assigned to them at birth.

That weaponises the so-called morality of transphobes to deny the reality of trans people.

A Bill that actually goes much, much further, by banning any ‘teaching, instruction, counselling and advice’ that acknowledges said lived reality, by anybody remotely connected to a school, from principals to parents volunteering in the school canteen.

That compels a school counsellor to remain silent when a suicidal trans student just needs to hear the most basic words of comfort: that they are not alone, and who they are is okay.

A Bill that recycles failed and flawed policies from Thatcher-era Britain, reviving ‘section 28’-style laws which saw a generation of lesbian, gay and bisexual students marginalised and made invisible, without access to safe sex education even at the height of the HIV epidemic.

Policies that were abandoned in the UK almost two decades ago, now being contemplated for LGBT students right here in 2021.

A Bill that seeks to insert an ignorant, inappropriate and incorrect definition of intersex in NSW law for the first time, further stigmatising individuals that still endure the most significant human rights abuses of any group within the LGBTI community.’

While discussing the Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020, I should note that were both it and Senator Hanson’s own Bill to pass their respective Parliaments, it is highly likely the Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020 would result in the defunding of NSW public schools.

That is because of the operation of proposed section 22AA of the Australian Education Act 2013 (Cth), and especially sub-section (1)(b):

‘A payment of financial assistance under this Act to a State or Territory is subject to the condition that the State or Territory has in force laws that…

require a staff member (however described) of a school to provide students with a balanced presentation of opposing views on political, historical and scientific issues as such issues arise in the teaching of a subject.’

Given the NSW Bill expressly prohibits the teaching of particular views, including in relation to the scientific diversity of gender identity, it cannot possibly be described as balanced according to that word’s ordinary meaning.

Putting that particular issue to one side, I raise the broader context of the Bill currently before the Committee because it will have consequences outside of its own flawed provisions.

If the Committee, and Parliament, choose to support the Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020, it will only embolden the proponents of the culture war against trans and non-binary kids.

On the other hand, the Committee, and Parliament, have the opportunity through this inquiry and subsequent legislative debate to send a strong signal that trans and gender diverse Australians have the right to be themselves, and above all that trans and non-binary children will be protected against further attacks.

The second and final additional argument I would like to raise relates to the impracticability of the Bill itself. Specifically, proposed section (7) of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Act 2008 (Act), provides that:

‘The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority must ensure that:

(a) the national school curriculum is developed and administered to provide a balanced presentation of opposing views on political, historical and scientific issues; and

(b) information, resources, support and guidance that promote a balanced presentation of opposing views on political, historical and scientific issues are provided to the teaching profession.’

However, the Bill does not define what is meant by the term ‘balance’. The Explanatory Memorandum fails to provide further clarification, simply noting this provision requires ACARA ‘to promote a balanced presentation of opposing views where they exist’ (emphasis added).

Which leaves us with Senator Hanson’s Second Reading Speech to assist with legislative interpretation. In the context of her views on, or rather against, climate change science –which dominates the other half of her statement – the notion of ‘balance’ becomes problematic.

It appears Senator Hanson would like to provide an equal platform in the science curriculum to climate change denialism alongside evidence-based climate science which irrefutably shows the earth is heating, and that this heating is caused by human activity. 

To do what Senator Hanson proposes – to provide space in the science curriculum just because some people believe it, rather than because it is based on evidence – would undermine the very nature of science itself.

Nevertheless, it is the application of the Bill’s vague notions of ‘balance’ to the subject of history that reveals just how unworkable this legislation is.

To raise just one example, how would this legislation affect the history curriculum around World War II, and specifically the Holocaust? Abhorrent though their views are, some people continue to espouse Holocaust denialist arguments. To apply the language used in the Explanatory Memorandum, they are ‘opposing views (about history) where they exist’.

It is therefore at least possible that, if passed, the Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020 would mandate ACARA to include Holocaust denialism as part of the Australian history curriculum.

Such an outcome is obviously unacceptable. It reflects a Bill that is an unworkable mess, and one that would create a mess of Australia’s curriculum, not just in history, but in politics, science and elsewhere too.

In my view, this impracticability is the inevitable outcome of a Senator trying to impose their ideological obsessions – in this case, climate change denialism, and the erasure of trans and non-binary kids – through the national education system.

I would much prefer our school curriculum to be drafted by experts who understand their subject matter, as well as the learning and developmental needs of children – all children – rather than a Senator who does not seem to even understand her own legislation. 

I sincerely hope the majority of the Committee, and the Parliament, share that preference.

Thank you for considering this submission as part of the inquiry into the Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020. Please do not hesitate to contact me, at the details provided, should the Committee require additional information.

Sincerely

Alastair Lawrie

Pauline Hanson has joined her NSW state leader Mark Latham in introducing legislation attacking trans and non-binary kids.
Just like his Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020, her Australian Education Legislation Amendment (Prohibiting the Indoctrination of Children) Bill 2020 must be rejected.

Footnotes:

[i] For more on my experiences, see ‘The Longest Five Years’, via https://alastairlawrie.net/2019/03/17/the-longest-five-years/ 17 March 2019.

[ii] Adam O. Hill et al, ‘Writing Themselves In 4: The Health and Wellbeing of LGBTQA+ Young People in Australia’, La Trobe University Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, February 2021, available at https://www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1198945/Writing-Themselves-In-4-National-report.pdf

[iii] Ibid, p48.

[iv] Ibid, p52.

[v] Ibid, p54.

[vi] Ibid, p57.

[vii] See ‘NSW MPs can be champions for trans and gender diverse kids. Or bullies.’, via https://alastairlawrie.net/2021/02/14/nsw-mps-can-be-champions-for-trans-and-gender-diverse-kids-or-bullies/ 14 February 2021.

Not all pregnant people are women. The law should reflect that.

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Submission re Exposure Draft Crimes Legislation (Offences Against Pregnant Women) Bill 2020

Director, Law Enforcement and Crime

NSW Department of Communities and Justice

GPO Box 31

Sydney NSW 2001

via policy@justice.nsw.gov.au

29 January 2021

To whom it may concern

Not all pregnant people are women.

That fact may be disappointing, even alarming, to some people – including a certain (in)famous children’s author.

But to ignore it is to deny reality, and live in a world that is no less fantasy than the stories in that author’s books.

The law should reflect reality rather than fantasy.

Unfortunately, the Exposure Draft Crimes Legislation (Offences Against Pregnant Women) Bill 2020 does not adequately engage with the real world in 2021.

Instead, it consistently refers to the people it intends to protect as pregnant women, including in the primary provision which establishes circumstances of aggravation under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), with proposed sub-section 9(1) stating:

‘It is a circumstance of aggravation for an offence against this Act (the relevant offence) if-

(a) the relevant offence is committed against a pregnant woman, and

(b) the act of omission that constitutes the relevant offence causes the destruction of the foetus of the woman.’

This creates at least three potential problems in relation to non-binary people, and trans men, in NSW[i] who are currently or will in the future become pregnant.

First, some people may attempt to argue this wording would therefore mean such aggravation does not apply in relation to the destruction of a foetus of a non-binary person or trans man who was pregnant.

This problem is likely the easiest to overcome, with sub-section 8(1) of the Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) providing that ‘[i]n any Act or instrument- a word or expression that indicates one or more particular genders shall be taken to indicate every other gender.’

In this situation, woman may consequently be interpreted by courts to also include non-binary people and trans men – although I would appreciate confirmation from the Department of Communities and Justice that this interpretation is correct, and that the foetuses of non-binary people and trans men are not considered less important than the foetuses of women under this proposed law.

The second problem is more difficult to overcome, and that is because the repeated use of the phrase pregnant women – without explicit recognition of the pregnancies of other people – itself reinforces the invisibilisation and marginalisation of those people.

Non-binary people and trans men who are or will in the future become pregnant will see a law that does not include them in its text.

This problem is also very easy to overcome, provided there is sufficient parliamentary support to treat all people equally under the law. That is to simply replace the phrase pregnant woman with pregnant person, both in the title of the legislation and throughout.

The third problem is one that will be created by the Bill for the future.

At some point – whether this year, this term, or later this decade – NSW will hopefully join the majority of Australian jurisdictions in allowing trans and gender diverse people to amend their birth certificates without requiring surgery or other invasive medical procedures beforehand.[ii]

That change would ensure the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 (NSW) accepts the existence of all trans and gender diverse people, and therefore of non-binary people and trans men who can become pregnant.

When that reform is finally passed, the already strong case to amend the phrase pregnant woman to pregnant person in the current Bill will become overwhelming.

In my view, it makes absolutely no sense to introduce flawed legislation today knowing both that it does not reflect lived experience now and that it will need to be changed in the not-too-distant future.

I should note at this point that, if the provisions of the Crimes Legislation (Offences Against Pregnant Women) Bill 2020 were already part of existing law, this would not be the highest priority for reform.

It is clearly far less important than amendments to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act itself, to grant trans and gender diverse people in NSW the right of self-determination over their own gender identity.

And it is far less urgent than stopping the One Nation Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020, which would erase a generation of trans and gender diverse students in classrooms across the state.[iii]

Nevertheless, that still does not justify the introduction of a new law that simply entrenches old mistakes, especially when those mistakes can be so easily avoided by substituting one word.

Finally, I have written the above submission as an advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community. I am also someone who supports the right to choose for people who are pregnant.

I have taken at face value the statements on the Department of Communities and Justice website, and in the Premier and Attorney General’s media release of 10 November 2020,[iv] advising that ‘[t]he proposed amendments do not affect existing laws on abortion.’

If those statements are not accurate, then I defer to the expertise of reproductive rights organisations and support any amendments which are necessary to protect the hard-fought, and hard-won, right to reproductive choice in NSW.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate my original point – that the law should reflect reality, not fantasy.

In the real world, there are already, and will be in the future, non-binary people and trans men who are pregnant. The wording of the Crimes Legislation (Offences Against Pregnant Women) Bill 2020 does not reflect this reality. It should be changed.

Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission on this draft legislation. Please do not hesitate to contact me at the details provided should you require further information.

Sincerely

Alastair Lawrie

Footnotes:

[i] This includes people who have updated their identity documentation to reflect their gender identity in Australian jurisdictions which do not require surgery or other invasive medical procedures beforehand. Of course, it also includes many people in NSW who are currently unable to do so because of the inappropriate and unjustified restrictions in section 32B of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 (NSW). However, despite what that law may say, in reality – in their day-to-day lives – these people are not women.

[ii] For more on this issue, see: Did You Know? Trans People in NSW and Queensland Still Require Surgery to Update Their Birth Certificates.

[iii] For more on the serious problems created by that legislation, see: I Stand With Trans Kids, and Against Mark Latham.

[iv] ‘Recognising pregnancies lost to criminal acts’.

Did You Know? Trans People in NSW and Queensland Still Require Surgery to Update Their Birth Certificates

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This week marked an important milestone on the long march to trans and gender diverse equality in Australia. From 1 May 2020, trans and gender diverse people in Victoria can update their birth certificate and other identity documentation without requiring surgery.

Unfortunately, there are still two Australian jurisdictions that continue to impose this unjustified and unnecessary barrier, as well as a third where the laws also require urgent amendment.

[NB The following is up to date as at 23 March 2023]

New South Wales

Under section 32B of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995, in order to apply to alter the register to record a change of sex, a person must first have ‘undergone a sex affirmation procedure’, which is defined in section 32A as:

‘a surgical procedure involving the alteration of a person’s reproductive organs carried out:

a) for the purpose of assisting a person to be considered to be a member of the opposite sex, or

b) to correct or eliminate ambiguities relating to the sex of the person.’

With the NSW election to be held on Saturday (25 March), neither the Perrottet Liberal/National Government nor the Minns Labor Opposition have given any clear commitments to amend these laws. As we will see below, that will soon leave NSW as the only place left which imposes a requirement for genital surgery on trans people who simply want identity documentation which reflects who they are.

Queensland

Section 22 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003 provides that ‘the reassignment of a person’s sex after sexual reassignment surgery may be noted in the person’s entry in the register of birth.’

This requirement is obviously the same as NSW’s – for the time being.

However, in late 2022, the Palaszczuk Labor Government introduced the Births, Deaths and Marriages Bill 2022, which would replace the requirement with a scheme based on Victoria’s (discussed below) which removes any requirement for surgery, or other medical approval (but still falls short of the best practice approach in Tasmania, also discussed later in this article).

Western Australia

The situation is only slightly better in the nation’s West, where section 14 the Gender Reassignment Act 2000 allows people to apply for gender recognition certificates where that person ‘has undergone a reassignment procedure’. Section 3 defines ‘reassignment procedure’ as:

‘a medical or surgical procedure (or a combination of such procedures) to alter the genitals and other gender characteristics of a person, identified by a birth certificate as male or female, so that the person will be identified as a person of the opposite sex and includes, in relation to a child, any such procedure (or combination of procedures) to correct or eliminate ambiguities in the child’s gender characteristics.’

Fortunately, following a decision of the High Court in AB v Western Australia; AH v Western Australia [2011] HCA 42 6 October 2011, this has been interpreted such that genital surgery is not required. However, physical medical treatment, such as hormone therapy, remains a pre-requisite to access a new birth certificate in Western Australia.

These issues were examined in the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia’s 2018 Report: Review of Western Australian legislation in relation to the registration or change of a person’s sex and/or gender and status relating to sex characteristics, which recommended that applications for change of gender involve a simple administrative process, including a statutory declaration, with no requirement for surgical or other medical treatment.

After a long delay, the WA McGowan Government promised in late 2022 to abolish the Gender Recognition Board. It is expected that they too will introduced similar reforms to the existing Victorian approach.

South Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory

These three jurisdictions have abolished the requirement for trans and gender diverse people to have surgery, or other physical medical interventions, in order to access updated birth certificates and identity documentation.

However, they do still require doctors or other health practitioners, such as counsellors or psychologists, to approve such applications, which remains inappropriate medicalisation of people’s gender identities, that should instead be based on self-identification.

Section 29L of South Australia’s Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 provides that ‘if the Registrar is satisfied that the applicant has undertaken a sufficient amount of appropriate clinical treatment in relation to their sex or gender identity, the Registrar may make an entry about the change of the person’s sex or gender identity in the Register…’, with section 29H clarifying that ‘clinical treatment need not involve invasive medical treatment (and may include or be constituted by counselling).’

Likewise, section 24 of the Australian Capital Territory’s Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration 1997 provides that a person applying to have the register amended to reflect a change of sex must have ‘received appropriate clinical treatment for alteration of the person’s sex’. Clinical treatment is not further defined, meaning it does not explicitly require surgical intervention.

The Northern Territory has also adopted a similar approach, with section 28B of their Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act providing that trans and gender diverse people can update their birth certificates if they can show that they have ‘received appropriate clinical treatment in relation to the adult’s sex or gender’.

It is positive that each of South Australia, the ACT and NT have removed the requirement for surgery or other physical medical interventions. However, in order to reflect the self-determination of trans and gender diverse people, they should still amend their laws to remove the role of health practitioners as ‘gate-keepers’ of their identity.

Victoria

As indicated above, Victoria’s new birth certificate reforms mean trans and gender diverse Victorians can update their identity documentation without having surgery or other physical medical interventions.

Importantly, these changes, which were introduced by the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Act 2019 (Vic), also mean that trans and gender diverse people do not need approval from doctors or other health practitioners, such as counsellors or psychologists. Their role as ‘gate-keepers’ is over.

However, there is one requirement which fails the principle of complete ‘self-identification’. That’s because section 30A of the Victorian Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 requires adults to submit a ‘supporting statement’ made by a person who is aged 18 years or over and who has known the applicant for at least 12 months and state that the person making the supporting statement:

  • believes that the applicant makes the application to alter the record of their sex in good faith, and
  • supports the application.

This second requirement in particular (that another person must ‘support’ the application of a trans or gender diverse person for a new birth certificate) is unnecessary, and is the reason why Victoria’s new scheme, while a massive improvement from the previous regime, falls short of Australian best practice.

Screen Shot 2020-05-02 at 8.08.02 am

Ideally, access to accurate identity documentation for trans and gender diverse people should not depend on whether another person ‘supports’ their application.

Tasmania

That honour belongs to Tasmania’s Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1999. Following amendments earlier last year, it allows trans and gender diverse Tasmanians (aged over 16) to self-determine their own gender identity.

Without the need for surgery or other physical medical interventions. Without the need for medical approval. And based solely on self-identification.

When NSW, Queensland and Western Australia finally bring their own birth certificate laws into the 21st century, it is the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1999 (Tas) they should be emulating.

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This article is part of a series. Find other ‘Did You Know?’ posts here.

If you have enjoyed reading this article, please consider subscribing to receive future posts, via the right-hand scroll bar on the desktop version of this blog or near the bottom of the page on mobile. You can also follow me on twitter @alawriedejesus

Ending Forced Trans Divorce: Mission Accomplished

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It is now 18 months since the passage of legislation that finally allowed lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people the right to marry under Australian law.

 

Well, most LGBTI people. Because it did not immediately overrule the laws of some Australian states and territories that prevent people who are married from changing their identity documentation to reflect their gender identity. In effect, making some trans and gender diverse people choose between the recognition of their relationship, and recognition of who they are.

 

Instead, the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 gave states and territories 12 months in which to update relevant legislation to provide married people with the same opportunity to update their birth certificates as unmarried people.

 

At the end of this 12-month period, on 9 December 2018, the existing exemption under sub-section 40(5) the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 was repealed:

 

Nothing in Division 2 renders it unlawful to refuse to make, issue or alter an official record of a person’s sex if a law of a State or Territory requires the refusal because the person is married.

 

So how did the states and territories respond?

 

First, there are two jurisdictions that had already abolished forced trans divorce prior to the passage of the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act:

 

The Australian Capital Territory, where section 24(1) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1997 does not make any distinction on the basis of whether a person is married or unmarried, and

 

South Australia, where sub-section 29I(3) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 explicitly states that an application to change sex or gender identity ‘may be made under this section even if the person is married.’

 

There are four other jurisdictions that passed legislation within the 12 month time-frame granted to repeal forced trans divorce:

 

Victoria, where Parliament approved the Justice Legislation Amendment (Access to Justice) Act 2018 on 22 May. Among other things, this law repealed the requirement in section 30A of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 that a person be unmarried in order to apply to alter their details on the register, and

 

New South Wales, which passed the Miscellaneous Amendment (Marriages) Act 2018 in June. Similar to the Victorian Act, this legislation removes the requirement in sub-section 32B(1)(c) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 that a person be unmarried in order to apply to alter the register to record change of sex.

 

Queensland, which also passed its Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Act 2018 in June, amending the requirement in section 22 of the original Act that a person be unmarried for their sexual reassignment to be noted on the Register, and

 

The Northern Territory, which passed the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2018 in late November, taking effect on 6 December with only three days to spare.

 

Which means that, at the time of the December 2018 deadline, two out of eight Australian states and territories had failed to repeal forced trans divorce:

 

Western Australia, where the Gender Reassignment Amendment Bill 2018 passed the Legislative Assembly in November 2018, but was not passed by the Legislative Council before the end of 2018. Update: The Legislative Council passed the Bill on Tuesday 12 February 2019, and

 

Tasmania, where the Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendments) Bill 2018 – which makes a range of important amendments beyond simply repealing forced trans divorce – passed the Legislative Assembly in November 2018 despite Government opposition, and awaits consideration by their Legislative Council in March this year. Update: This Bill was passed by the Legislative Council in April 2019, and took effect in May 2019.

 

Of course, it is disappointing that it took another 17 months for trans and gender diverse Australians to gain access to marriage on the same terms of lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

 

But it is still worthy of celebration that the abhorrent legal discrimination that was forced trans divorce has finally been made history.

 

Finally, this doesn’t mean the struggle for LGBTI equality in Australia is over – there is plenty left to do as part of the LGBTI agenda (see here).

 

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* This article was originally published in June 2018 as ‘Ending Forced Trans Divorce: Mission Half Accomplished’.

Submission re Queensland Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 2018

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The Queensland Government has introduced legislation to finally abolish ‘forced trans divorce’ in that state. The following is my submission to the Parliamentary Committee which is considering this Bill. More details about this inquiry can be found here.

 

Committee Secretary

Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee

Parliament House

George Street

Brisbane QLD 4000

lacsc@parliament.qld.gov.au

 

Sunday 18 March 2018

 

Dear Committee

 

Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 2018

 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission in relation to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 2018.

 

In short, I strongly support this legislation. As noted by Attorney-General, the Hon Yvette D’Ath, in her second reading speech, the Bill ‘makes an important and necessary amendment to ensure true marriage equality is realised for sex and gender diverse Queenslanders.’

 

The existing provisions of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003, which require that married transgender people must divorce their spouses before they are able to have the reassignment of their sex noted on the birth register, are a gross violation of human rights.

 

Forced trans divorce does not respect the right to personal autonomy and self-determination of trans and gender diverse people.

 

Forced trans divorce also does not respect the ability of all people to choose who they marry, and then to decide between themselves whether they remain married – rather than having that decision made for them by government.

 

Forced trans divorce is in direct contravention of Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provides that:

 

All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

 

The amendments proposed in this Bill will help address these human rights breaches. If passed, it will ensure that nobody is left in the impossible situation of having to choose between staying married to the person they love and being able to access identity documentation that reflects their gender identity.

 

I therefore urge the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee to recommend the passage of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 2018 and for all members of Queensland Parliament to act on that recommendation.

 

Before I conclude this submission I would also note that forced trans divorce is not the only aspect of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003 which breaches the human rights of trans and gender diverse people in Queensland.

 

In particular, their right to personal autonomy and self-determination is violated in three key ways:

 

  1. The requirement that people must have ‘sexual reassignment surgery’[i] before being able to update their sex on the birth register. This is inappropriate as not all transgender people want or are able to undertake such procedures (for a variety or reasons, including financial).

 

  1. The requirement that applications to note the reassignment of a person’s sex ‘must be accompanied by statutory declarations, by 2 doctors, verifying that the person the subject of the application has undergone sexual reassignment surgery’ [section 23(4)(b)]. The medicalisation of identity recognition processes is also inappropriate – doctors should not be ‘gatekeepers’ of the identity of trans and gender diverse people.

 

  1. The requirement that sex be marked as either male or female on the register. This binary categorisation does not recognise the diversity of sex and gender which exists in the community, and therefore imposes inaccurate identity documentation on some people.

 

I note that in her second reading speech Ms D’Ath stated that:

 

The Palaszczuk government is strongly committed to ensuring our laws support the rights of sex and gender diverse Queenslanders. The focus of the first public discussion paper for the recently commenced review of the BDMR Act is examining how Queensland life event registration services can improve legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex Queenslanders and their families. I encourage all Queenslanders to access the discussion paper on the Get Involved website and have their say.

 

[NB The Registering life events: Recognising sex and gender diversity and same-sex families Discussion Paper can be found here. Submissions are due by 4 April.]

 

I look forward to the three human rights violations identified above being addressed through that process. However, I believe it is important they are highlighted here because, while the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 2018 is an important step forward, it is by no means the end of the journey towards the full recognition and acceptance of trans and gender diverse Queenslanders.

 

If you would like additional information, or to clarify any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Sincerely

Alastair Lawrie

 

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Queensland Attorney-General, the Hon Yvette D’Ath MP.

 

Update 12 December 2018: The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 2018 was passed by Queensland Parliament on 13 June, and commenced on 18 June, finally bringing forced trans divorce in that jurisdiction to an end. The consultation process about broader reforms to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2003 is ongoing.

 

Footnotes:

[i] Defined in the Act as:

‘means a surgical procedure involving the alteration of a person’s reproductive organs carried out:

(a) to help the person to be considered a member of the opposite sex; or

(b) to correct or eliminate ambiguities about the sex of the person.’