Intersex rights in Australia

Intersex rights in Australia
Protection of physical integrity and bodily autonomyNo
Protection from discriminationFederal, some States
Access to identification documentsYes
Access to same rights as other men and womenNo
Changing M/F sex classificationsYes
Third gender or sex classificationsYes
MarriageYes

Intersex rights in Australia are protections and rights afforded to intersex people through statutes, regulations, and international human rights treaties, including through the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) which makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based upon that person's intersex status in contexts such as work, education, provision of services, and accommodation.[1]

Australia was the first country to conduct a parliamentary inquiry into involuntary or coerced medical interventions on intersex people. A 2016 Family Court case authorising a gonadectomy and consequential surgery on a young child[2] has attracted public commentary for disclosing those medical interventions, their rationales, and a prior clitorectomy and labiaplasty.[3][4][5]

In March 2017, Australian and New Zealand community organizations issued a joint call for legal reform, including the criminalization of deferrable intersex medical interventions on children, an end to legal classification of sex, and improved access to peer support.[6]

  1. ^ Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) s 5C Discrimination on the ground of intersex status.
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