Trans Queenslanders Can Now Change Birth Certificate Without Undergoing Surgery

Trans and gender-diverse Queenslanders will now be able to change the gender recorded on their birth certificates without having to undergo sexual reassignment surgery.

Queensland’s Parliament on Wednesday passed Annastacia Palaszczuk Government’s birth certificate reforms law. Trans and gender-diverse Queenslanders will no longer have to undergo gender-affirming surgery to change the sex marker on their birth certificates. They can now also apply to change their names, while applying for changing the sex marker on their certificates.

For trans and gender-diverse children under 16, parents or guardians can apply to the registry or an application can be made to the children’s court.

Labor and Greens voted for the new law, while the Liberal National Party, Katter’s Australian Party and Independent MP Sandy Bolton voted against it.

‘Life-Changing Moment’

Now trans and gender diverse people in Queensland will have the dignity of recognition as who they are. It’s a good day! 🏳️‍⚧️ https://t.co/7DMtOoD0MV

— Anna Brown OAM (@AnnaEquality) June 14, 2023

Queensland now joins other jurisdictions in Australia, including Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Northern Territory and ACT to enact laws to remove the requirement for transgender people to undergo surgery before being allowed to change their gender identity on their birth certificates.

“It’s a life-changing moment,” said trans advocate and Equality Australia spokesperson Ymania Brown.

“What most people in Australia take for granted as a simple piece of paper is for trans and gender diverse people the right to exist and be seen for who we are,” Brown said in a statement.

Trans advocacy group Transcend Australia hailed the reforms saying it will “have an enormous impact on the lives of trans, non-binary and gender-diverse young people and their families for years to come… They won’t be discriminated against in education, employment, healthcare or housing for being who they are.”

Same-Sex Parents Recognised

The new legislation also allows same-sex and gender diverse parents to be registered as either “mother” or “father” on their child’s birth certificate.

“This historic bill belongs to those in the LGBTIQA+ community who despite facing the brunt of vitriol, discrimination and hate have chosen to stand up and fight for legal recognition,” Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said in a statement.

“I’m proud to pass these new laws that ensure every Queenslander can have their legal identity align with their lived identity. These laws also recognise same-sex and gender diverse parents by acknowledging the undeniable reality that a child can have more than one mother and more than one father,” D’Ath said.