Funding Support To Improve Victorian Gender Records Accuracy
Image: Image courtesy Transgender Victoria
Financial hardships need not stop Trans and Gender Diverse (TGD) persons in Victoria who wish to apply for a change in their legal forms of ID, like a birth certificate or a proof of ID card.
Transgender Victoria, with support from Vic Bears, has set up a fund to help TGD persons cover the costs of applying for the change in their birth certificates.
“TGV will not be asking for you to prove your financial position. To ensure we can help the greatest number of people in need, we ask you to only request assistance if you think you are currently experiencing financial hardship,” the organisation said on its website.
From May 1, 2020, new rules have come into effect in Victoria that allow persons to change the sex marker in their birth certificates, without having to undergo sex affirmation surgery.
According to the Victoria Birth, Deaths and Marriages Office, the cost of applying for the change and a new certificate is $110.50.
Transgender Victoria’s Executive Director Margot Fink said that the reforms were an important step forward toward equality for trans and gender diverse Victorians.
“In particular this represents huge relief for non-binary and gender diverse people, as well as trans youth. The previous restrictions often meant members of our community were placed at risk of being outed or endangered by documents that did not reflect their true gender, and this reform improves the safety, autonomy, and equality of trans and gender diverse people in Victoria. It’s fantastic to see the daily lives of trans and gender diverse Victorians and our loved ones meaningfully improved by this reform,” said Fink.
A ‘Change Your ID Day’ webinar is scheduled to be held on May 18 to assist TGD Victorians to understand the process of how to go about applying for a new birth certificate as well as the sex descriptors they can choose.
LGBTQI Legal Service Coordinator Sam Elkin, and representatives from Births, Deaths and Marriages office will be part of the virtual info share session. They will be joined by Brenda Appleton, Chair of Transgender Victoria and Felicity Marlowe, Co-founder of Rainbow Families Victoria.
Register, to join the free webinar.
Apply for financial assistance to change your birth certificate.
Find resources about the birth certificate reforms prepared by Transgender Victoria.
Excellent idea! Thank you Victoria. ✔️✔️✔️
What an excellent and good idea! Pitty my backwards-run state of NSW (and Queensland too) does not do this, we still actually legally require both surgery and sterilization – just to change a sex or gender marker on your own personal birth certificate! ????????