2023-03-01
It’s an exciting year for LGBTQIA+ legislation in WA, but the devil will be in the details
By Alex Wallace (they/them), an LGBTQIA+ Advocate and Activist from the Swan Regional Group, and has previously been Co-Convenor of Pride Working Group, the Election Campaign Committee and a GWA candidate
This year, three significant pieces of legislation that affect the LGBTQIA+ community are expected to be introduced into the Western Australian parliament:
- A brand new Equal Opportunity Act;
- A ban on conversion practices; and
- Abolishment of the Gender Reassignment Board.
These are all significant wins that the community has long fought hard for, and has always had the support of Greens (WA) MPs in the parliament, with questions to Government, drafting of legislation and amendments and turning out to community events and protests in solidarity. But of course the work continues and the devil will be in the details. This article will be in 4 major parts:
- The Equal Opportunity Act
- Conversion Practices Ban
- Abolishment of the Gender Reassignment Board
- What's next for LGBTQIA+ Western Australians
The Equal Opportunity Act
WA's LGBTQIA+ community welcomed the report from the Law Reform Commission (LRC) and its recommendations for new protections, which included how trans and gender-diverse people are to be recognised in WA's Equal Opportunity Act. The Government indicated it broadly supported the recommendations of the LRC, and made specific mentions of safeguards for the trans and gender-diverse community no longer requiring a Gender Recognition Certificate in order to be protected under law and strengthening protections for LGBTQIA+ staff and students.
Following questions from Greens MLC, Brad Pettitt, towards the end of 2022, we expect the whole new Equal Opportunity Act to be introduced into parliament in the first half of the year. It will be important for our community to read that legislation in full, to see what areas of the LRC recommendations the Government does not intend to support.
Conversion Practices Ban
In a move that is being celebrated, the Government will finally ban LGBTQIA+ conversion practices, and at present it seems this will include in religious settings where a majority of these practices take place.
Advocates have been calling for this for decades, and now the Government will finally act in response to the Esther House review. The detail here the LGBTQIA+ community will look for is ensuring that all practices are banned. The ban on conversion practices in Queensland is limited to medical settings, which means they still occur in religious settings.
Abolishment of the Gender Reassignment Board
Following crucial advocacy from the trans and gender-diverse community of WA, and the support of Greens MPs, including most recently Brad Pettitt, the WA Government will finally abolish the outdated Gender Reassignment Board and Gender Reassignment Act 2000. This Act and Board required trans and gender-diverse people to prove they were trans enough to a board of medical and legal practitioners, and only gave the ability to recognise binary genders.
New legislation will be introduced that will allow for non-binary gender recognition, which until now has not been the case. Of concern to the community is the intention of the new streamlined system to still require proof of "clinical treatment in relation to their sex or gender identity" which advocates still find restrictive. Consultation is ongoing prior to the introduction of legislation, where the community hopes for the introduction of full Self-ID, as is available in jurisdictions like Victoria.
What's Next for LGBTQIA+ Western Australians
The issues faced in the WA LGBTQIA+ community continue; unnecessary surgeries on babies and children with intersex characteristics, LGBTQIA+ people still facing significant discrimination and difficulties accessing services appropriate for our health and mental health and transphobia and Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist and Gender Critical ideology is getting organised and on the rise in Australia. We have more work to do, but the WA LGBTQIA+ community is empowered more than ever before!
Be sure to keep up with the GWA Pride Working Group to see what's happening in WA, and follow other advocacy organisations such as Intersex Human Rights Australia, TransFolk of WA, Rainbow Futures WA and Pride WA to keep up-to-date with the WA LGBTQIA+ community.
Header photo: Pride 2021 Credit: The Greens (WA) Pride Working Group
[Opinions expressed are those of the author and not official policy of Greens WA]