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Victoria passes birth certificate reforms
Transgender and gender-diverse people in Victoria will be free to change the sex on their birth certificate without gender-reassignment surgery.
Victorian Minister for Equality Martin Foley (left) described the reforms as ‘long overdue’. (Image: James Ross)
Victoria’s birth certificate reforms passed the state’s parliament on Tuesday night.
The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill passed through the upper house by a vote of 26–14. Victoria has become the fifth Australian state or territory to allow the change on birth certificates, joining Tasmania, the Northern Territory, South Australia and the ACT.
Victorian Minister for Equality Martin Foley called the change ‘long overdue’.
‘It will make sure that gender-diverse and trans Victorians have the same rights as everyone else for their foundation identity document to reflect who they are,’ he told reporters.
State Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said the change may be, ‘A small thing to many, but it means a world of difference to someone else’.
Key to the Victorian Government
argument for reform was the idea that requiring a person to undergo gender-reassignment surgery before they could change their birth certificate was not fair because some people are unable, or do not wish, to go through what is a significant procedure.
‘These important new laws are about ensuring everyone can live their life as they choose, and that includes having a birth certificate that reflects their true identity,’ Attorney-General Hennessy said.
‘The current surgery requirement sends a painful and false message that there is something wrong with being trans or gender-diverse that needs to be “fixed”. That’s why we’re removing this cruel and unfair barrier.’
While the bill passed the upper house, it did so without the support of the state opposition. Victorian Liberal leader Michael O’Brien was clear in his party’s opposition, specifically what it considers the conflation of gender and sex
‘A birth certificate is supposed to report somebody’s biological sex, but gender identification is a different concept,’ Mr O’Brien told reporters.
‘What the government has done in this bill is turn a document which is designed to record biological sex into something which reports a person’s gender identification.’
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