A lesbian advocacy group has had a victory in its legal battle to exclude transwomen from its single sex public events, after the Federal Court upheld its appeal against a ruling by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
In a decision which may have significant implications for the interpretation of Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act, Federal Court Judge Mark Moshinsky found the first two grounds of the Lesbian Action Group’s appeal had been made out, and that it was therefore not necessary to make a judgment on the third and fourth grounds.
Justice Moshinsky ordered that the Administrative Review Tribunal set aside its previous dismissal of the group’s appeal, and that a differently constituted tribunal reconsider the matter.
LAG had sought a five-year exemption under the Sex Discrimination Act to hold “lesbians born female only” public events, and appealed to the ART, and subsequently the Federal Court when it was refused by the AHRC.
Wednesday’s verdict is likely to have implications for the Tickle vs. Giggle case, which is also currently before the Federal Court and involves transgender woman Roxanne Tickle, who successfully sued start-up founder Sall Grover over her women-only social media app, Giggle for Girls.
At last a victory for sanity! Let’s hope this commonsense approach prevails in the Tickle vs Giggle case
How exciting. Some sense at last.