The NSW parliament became the last state or territory, on Thursday, to remove the requirement that sex-change surgery is required before a person’s legal sex can be changed.
The changes will mean that any person born in Australia who has a penis and testicles can be legally classified as female.
Under the Equality Legislation LGBTIQA+ law, adults can change their birth certificate once a year, as many times as they want. If they don’t want to be male or female, they can be registered as non-binary or not specified.
Parents can switch children’s registered sex if they have a counsellor’s endorsement. If one parent disagrees, a judge can decide.
Western Australia passed similar changes last month, although the law hasn’t come into effect.
Queensland changed its law last year, Victoria in 2020 and Tasmania in 2019. The ACT and Northern Territory have similar rules to NSW. In South Australia, six months treatment from a psychologist has been required since 2017 to change the sex listed on a birth certificate.
The law is opposed by some women’s rights activists, lesbian advocates and Christians, who say it undermines advancements for women, including the promotion of female sport, safe change rooms and toilets, and protections from the risk of sexual violence in the workplace and in the community.
Source: Why the sex on your birth certificate is now meaningless after NSW Parliament changes | The Nightly