Anguish gives way to relief as Queensland allows trans people to change birth certificates

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Western Australia is also committed to joining every state and territory in Australia – bar one – by reforming its laws that require people undergo surgery before changing the sex on their birth certificate.

New South Wales is the only other state or territory in Australia where the requirement still exists.

Sexual reassignment surgery is a costly procedure that involves a number of health risks and is not readily available in Australia.

Alastair Lawrie, policy and advocacy director at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said this was one of “a wide range of LGBTIQ law reform issues” upon which NSW would soon become “an outlier”.

“NSW currently requires trans people to undergo genital surgery in order to access a new birth certificate, something many do not want and many of those who do cannot afford,” Lawrie said.

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