UPDATE 02/12/2022: The QLD Government has now introduced legislation to modernise Queensland’s birth certificates to better recognise our diverse community. We must ensure that this Bill passes to bring QLD in line with other states and territories. 

Most Australians take their identity documents for granted. For transgender, non-binary and gender diverse people, having their birth certificate correctly state their gender means everything. 

But right now, transgender people are forced to undergo invasive ‘sex reassignment surgery’ before being able to correct their birth certificate. Not only can this requirement present immense social, economic, and access barriers to legal gender recognition, but no person should be forced to undergo medical procedures as a requirement for recognition of who they are.

For many non-binary and gender diverse people, there is no option to correctly record their gender.

Our self-defined gender identity is one of the most basic aspects of self-determination, dignity and freedom. International human rights law says that our laws should respect self-identification. This means that trans, non-binary and gender diverse people should have access to basic ID that is true to their gender- regardless of what medical treatment they have (or have not) received. 

Call on the Queensland Government to change the law.