LEGAL

Written by Amin | 15 November 2023

There are many areas that legal questions are raised for trans and gender diverse people - young or old. Please Contact us for resources and referrals specific to your situation and for the most up to date information.

We have linked to some basic, general and helpful resources. For information and referrals relevant to your trans and gender diverse child please contact us directly.

Justice Connect

For legal resources and information

Justice Connect design and deliver high impact interventions to increase access to legal support and progress social justice in each state. They can assist with the following

Dealing with transphobia or discrimination in your state

Changes to gender on formal documents in your state

Change of name on formal documents in your state

Your rights at school in your state

Accessing hormones

“Ideally, the decision regarding timing of hormone commencement should be individualised to provide best care for the adolescent …The decision should be shared between the clinicians, the adolescent and their family with the values and belief systems of all contributors being respectfully considered.”

Australian Standards of Care and Treatment Guidelines for trans and gender diverse children and adolescents

In Australia, any person over the age of 18 years is deemed competent to make decisions about their own medical treatment, but it’s slightly different for people under 18.A Family Court of Australia ruling (Re Kelvin, 2017) overturned an existing law that required all young people and their parents/carers to go to Court to commence gender affirming hormones prior to age 18. This ruling was further clarified in the judgement of Re Imogen 2020 4 to mean that gender affirming treatment can be commenced in Australia with people under 18 only when there is no dispute between parents (or those with parental responsibility), the medical practitioner and the young person themselves with regard to:

The Gillick competence of an adolescent; or
A diagnosis of gender dysphoria; or
Proposed treatment for gender dysphoria

Any dispute requires a mandatory application to the Family Court of Australia as per the judgement of Re Imogen 2020.Medical practitioners seeing patients under the age of 18 are unable to initiate puberty blockers or gender affirming hormonal treatment without first ascertaining whether or not a child’s parents or legal guardians consent to the proposed treatment. If there is a dispute about consent or treatment, a doctor should not administer puberty blockers (“Stage 1”), hormones (“Stage 2”) or surgical intervention (“Stage 3”) without court authorisation.For trans people under 18 whose parents, carers or guardians will not consent to starting hormones, the Family Court must be involved. Unfortunately, in many cases where parents, carers or guardians do not consent, this may result in a trans person simply waiting until they are 18 to access puberty blockers and hormones, or seeking to access them outside of medical care and oversight.

Puberty suppression may continue for a few years, at which time a decision is made to either discontinue all hormone therapy or transition to a feminizing/masculinizing hormone regimen. Pubertal suppression does not inevitably lead to social transition or to [medical affirmation].

WPath, AusPATH, the RACP, the RACGP, and the Australian Endocrine Society all endorse access to puberty suppression/blockers for trans young people and adolescents.

Young people still require multidisciplinary assessment in order to commence hormone treatment.

Human Rights Law Centre discusses implications of the Re:Kelvin case.

For trans and gender diverse people who are aged 18 and above, Equinox Gender Diverse Health Centre based in Melbourne has introduced a new treatment methodology - Informed Consent document

Changes to Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support Agency records:

Change of personal details policy for Federal or Commonwealth Agencies.

Things to remember:

You will need to visit your local Centrelink/Medicare/Child Support Agency office in person. If your child is 14 years or older they may need to come with you.
You will need to take supporting documentation as specified in their policy.
The request to change personal details (including name and gender marker, title used).
The staff member that handles your enquiry may not be aware of Centrelink/Medicare policy with regard to updating personal information. It may be helpful to take a copy of the policy with you.
If you need to obtain further information or help, contacting the Department of Human Services complaints line may be of assistance. Their number is 1800 132 468.

Changes to Birth Certificates

Varies by state, and can depend on a number of factors. Contacting your state Births Deaths and Marriages or equivalent is necessary to obtain the most up to date information.

Discrimination - workplace, school, sport/recreation

Commonwealth level summary of legislation across Australia.

Human Rights Law Centres

Contact The Human Rights Law Centre for more information.

Justice Connect

LGBTI Legal Service Inc (QLD)

State Based Services:

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission

Anti Discrimination Board of NSW

Anti Discrimination Commission QLD

Equal Opportunity Tasmania

Equal Opportunity Commission South Australia

Equal Opportunity Commission Western Australia

Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission

ACT Human Rights Commission

Sports

Many trans and gender diverse children stop playing sports. There are many reasons for this, but most of them can be worked through. Many sporting codes and bodies have inclusive policy that means that there should be few barriers to participation.

Contact Proud2Play for the most up to date information. www.proud2play.org.au

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