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New laws to allow birth certificate alteration in Victoria
A new law is now in effect which will allow trans and gender-diverse Victorians to alter the sex recorded on their birth certificate without having to undergo invasive and costly sex affirmation surgery.
Tony Zhang
Trans and gender-diverse people can now nominate the sex listed in their birth registration as male, female, or any other accepted gender-diverse or non-binary descriptor of their own choice.
“For too long trans and gender-diverse communities have been sent a painful and false message that there is something wrong with being trans or gender-diverse that needs to be ‘fixed’,” Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said.
“We’ve removed an unfair and unnecessary barrier – allowing trans and gender-diverse Victorians to finally access a birth certificate that truly reflects who they are without having to undergo invasive and costly surgery.”
By overturning the requirement for an individual to undergo sex affirmation surgery before changing their birth certificate, this will recognise that some trans and gender-diverse people are unable to, or choose not to, undergo a serious and expensive medical procedure.
The Andrews Labor government reform means Victoria now joins the ACT, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, which all no longer require a person to undergo sex reassignment in order to alter the sex recorded on their birth registration documents.
Measures included in the legislation will enable the Registar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to refuse to register a descriptor that is obscene, offensive or if it is not reasonably established as a sex descriptor.
The new laws were informed by extensive consultation with trans and gender-diverse individuals and organisations, doctors and psychologists, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Gender and Sexuality Commissioner and previous public consultations undertaken by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
“Equality is not negotiable in Victoria and today, we’re a step closer to achieving it for all LGBTIQ Victorians – this is about delivering a basic right which was long overdue,” Minister for Equality Martin Foley said.
