- New streamlined administrative process for sex and gender recognition through the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages to come into effect
- Gender Reassignment Board abolished, bringing WA into line with all other states and territories
- Reforms implement recommendations from the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia
Trans and gender-diverse Western Australians will no longer be required to undergo medical or surgical reassignment to formally register a change of sex or gender with the passage the Births, Deaths, Marriages Registration Amendment (Sex or Gender Changes) Bill 2024through State Parliament.
The laws mean that a new streamlined administrative process for sex and gender recognition through the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages will now be implemented, and the Gender Reassignment Board, which processes change to sex applications, will be abolished.
The changes were recommended by the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia in its 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. This brings Western Australia into line with most other Australian jurisdictions.
The evidence required to support an application will be a statement from a medical practitioner or psychologist certifying the person has undergone appropriate clinical treatment, which may include counselling. A similar test is used by the Commonwealth, in relation to recording sex or gender on Australian passports, and in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
As part of the reform, consistent with the Law Reform Commission’s recommendations and several other jurisdictions, the sex descriptor of ‘non-binary’ will be available for Western Australians, in addition to ‘male’ and ‘female’.
Stricter rules apply in respect to people under the age of 18, including parental consent or permission from the Family Court of Western Australia in certain circumstances.
The reform does not change the existing procedures that relate to the registration of sex on a birth certificate when a child is born.
The Bill also contains a statutory review clause, ensuring the community can provide feedback on the operation and effectiveness of the regime after three years.
As stated by Attorney General John Quigley:
“The passage of these reforms reinforces the State Government’s commitment to equality for all Western Australians and our broader reform agenda supporting diversity and inclusion.
“They represent a significant step forward for gender recognition in Western Australia and towards a more respectful and inclusive approach to gender diversity.
“It means that the Gender Reassignment Board will be abolished and a new administrative application process implemented for people seeking to change their sex or gender on their birth certificate.
“The new process will come into operation on proclamation to allow time for the implementation of these reforms, which we anticipate will be in six months’ time.
“The period will allow for outstanding applications to the Gender Reassignment Board to be finalised, and any applications to the board that remain outstanding when the new act commences will be transitioned over to the new system, if that is what the applicant chooses.
“The State Government remains 100 per cent committed to new equal opportunity legislation and we will continue to engage with stakeholders in relation to this important reform.”
