For an introduction to these issues, see our page on identification documents
Overnight, the UN OHCHR released a long-awaited intersex fact sheet, as part of the Free&Equal campaign. Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Being intersex is much more common than most people think – according to experts there are as many intersex people…
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A submission to an inquiry stated to be on access to gender recognition by trans people. OII Australia was invited or requested by a range of parties to comment on numerous occasions during the inquiry submission period, and thus we made a submission despite the narrow suggested scope of the inquiry. It reflects our concerns on issues of involuntary or coerced medical treatment, and on proposed sex or gender classifications.
Tony Briffa has been interviewed by Claudia Calleja of the Times of Malta, while a Gender Identity Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Bill proceeds through that nation’s parliament. Tony and OII Australia take a keen interest in Maltese developments: our former Vice-President is a dual national and her parents were both born in Malta; and…
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Tim Wilson, the Human Rights Commissioner and Commission Spokesperson on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex (SOGII) rights, has announced a survey and consultation to explore key rights issues affecting LGBT and intersex people in Australia: This consultation aims to establish what legal protections exist and what legal barriers remain, what services are being provided…
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OII Australia recently wrote to ANZPATH (Australian and New Zealand Professional Association for Transgender Health) regarding a position taken by that organisation suggesting intersex was part of its remit, and part of their description of transgender. Given that intersex is recognised by diverse institutions, including the Australian government and the World Health Organization as a…
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OII Australia is delighted to announce “Making your service intersex-friendly“, a short guide to making services intersex-inclusive. We hope that it will help organisations and businesses across Australia to better understand intersex and people with intersex variations, and better respond to community needs…
The High Court handed down judgement today in the case of NSW Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages v Norrie on Wednesday 2 April. The case is about a transgender person who was born biologically male, had gender reassignment as an adult to affirm an identity as a woman, and who now identifies as being…
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We acknowledge the constructive intent of the ACT government in reforming Births, Deaths and Marriages legislation today. We warmly welcome the increase in time limit for registration of a birth, and the likely absence of any necessity for clinical treatment for intersex people who may wish to change classification. We welcome the naming of a…
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OII Australia president Morgan Carpenter has been kindly published by the Star Observer with an introduction to intersex, and an explanation of health, human rights and identity issues: …the ACT Government is considering the introduction of a third “intersex” category on birth certificates, and the High Court is due to rule on the case of…
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ABC’s The Drum OII Australia president, Morgan Carpenter, has been published this morning by the national broadcaster at The Drum opinion and analysis site. We welcome recognition that sex is more than just male or female – and some of us need it – but we don’t want a third classification to be named “intersex”….
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Update: We welcome the High Court judgement to recognise Norrie as having “non-specific” gender. We take no pleasure in having to comment on this case, currently before the High Court, Australia’s highest court, which has a hearing likely to be heard on 4 March 2014. However, the case raises the stakes for intersex people in…
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Important note: this paper should not be regarded as a guide to our current policy on identification documents. Our approaches have been informed by community-building and evidence-building, and are defined (as of March 2017) in the Darlington Statement.