WA’s gender recognition system lags behind other states and territories in Australia. No other state or territory has a Gender Reassignment Board (GRB) and trans and gender diverse people have described the current process as ‘difficult’, ‘humiliating’, ‘expensive’, ‘onerous’, and ‘confusing.’
Trans and gender diverse people born in WA just want to live their lives, but being forced to use ID that doesn’t match their gender identity creates problems, and updating your birth certificate in WA to correctly reflect your gender identity is difficult at best. A birth certificate is the first document a person has – it says who you are and where you belong. We can make it easier for trans and gender diverse people to be free to make their own choices, and to be treated with respect and dignity in everyday life.
We are proposing a new model for gender recognition in WA that:
- Replaces the focus on medical evidence with a self-identification approach
- Brings WA in line with the Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender, passport approval processes, international human rights law guidance from the United Nations, and gender recognition in Victoria, Tasmania, ACT, SA, and the NT
- Saves time and costs with a simpler, administrative process
- Is in line with modern understandings of gender diversity and consent for minors
- Is broadly supported by the trans and gender diverse community in WA. A community survey, outlining the key principles of this proposal was circulated in January 2023. Responses from 294 individuals indicated 89% agreement with our proposal.
WA and NSW are the last two states working toward gender recognition reform in Australia, after new laws passed in Queensland on 14 June 2023.
The Gender Recognition Reform in WA proposal was sent to the Attorney General’s office last month (May 2023) and RFWA and TransFolk of WA are currently awaiting the opportunity to discuss it in further detail.
This proposal comes six months after the WA Government’s public committment to reforming sex and gender recognition laws in Western Australia in December 2022.
A statement was made by Attorney-General John Quigley in parliament on 13 June 2023, reiterating that the WA government is progressing legislation to repeal the Gender Reassignment Act 2000, abolish the Gender Reassignment Board, and amend the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 to implement a new streamlined administrative process for sex and gender recognition.
