State ‘modernises’ birth certificates

Transgender Queenslanders will be allowed to formally change their gender without sex reassignment surgery after new laws were passed.

On Wednesday night, the Palaszczuk government moved to “modernise” birth certificate laws.

Along with scrapping the sexual reassignment surgery requirement, gender-diverse people will be allowed to change their name at the same time they formally register their change of sex.

The change will also apply to children under the age of 16, with parents allowed to apply directly to the registry where particular criteria are met or through the Children’s Court.

Before the child’s record is altered, the child will need to be assessed by a developmentally informed practitioner who has an established, professional relationship with them.

Same-sex and gender-diverse parents have also been recognised in the bill, with both parents able to register as mother or father on their child’s birth certificate.

Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath called the bill “historic” and said it belonged to those in the LGBTIQA+ who have “chosen to stand up and fight for legal recognition”.

“I’m proud to pass these new laws that ensure every Queenslander can have their legal identity align with their lived identity,” she said.

Equality Australia spokesperson Ymania Brown described the Bill as “life-changing” for trans and gender-diverse Queenslanders.

“What most people in Australia take for granted as a simple piece of paper is for trans and gender diverse people the right to exist and be seen for who we are,” she said.

“Everyone deserves the respect and dignity of being recognised as themselves.”