At the federal level, "intersex status" became a protected attribute in the federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), making it unlawful to discriminate against a person based upon that person's intersex status in contexts such as work, education, provision of services, and accommodation.
Yesterday the ACT Parliament passed the Variation in Sex Characteristics (Restricted Medical Treatment) Bill 2023 establishes legal protections and processes to support people with VSC to make their own decisions about permanent medical treatments affecting their bodies.
Very few people reported they were intersex or of indeterminate sex - 3.2% of the intentional, valid diverse sex/gender population, and 0.17 per 100,000 of the Australian population.
What is the new intersex legislation in the ACT? The Variation in Sex Characteristics (Restricted Medical Treatment) Bill 2023 enforces restrictions on medical treatments altering the sex characteristics of intersex people except with consent, in emergencies, or when authorised by an independent assessment board.
Organisation Intersex International Australia (2014) suggests that people with intersex variations make up 1.7% of births, but estimates range from 1 in 2,000 births (0.05%) to 8 in 200 (4%), and exact figures are unknown.
J.L. REFORM 713, 768 (2010) (“While the ADA expressly excludes transgender persons from the definition of disability, it makes no exclusion for intersex individuals.”).
True hermaphroditism, the rarest form of intersex, is usually diagnosed during the newborn period in the course of evaluating ambiguous genitalia.
The Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender, which took effect from 1 July 2013, enable any adult to choose to identify as male, female or X. Documentary evidence must be provided from a doctor or psychologist, but no medical intervention is required.
In Australia, any government department that operates at a federal level is required by law to allow you to update your gender marker without having had surgical intervention. This legislation also requires these organisations to provide an additional 'non-binary' or 'X' option.
In most formal documents, yes. However different documents have different requirements and different gender identity options. Unfortunately some trans and gender diverse people may have limited ability to change their gender status on some formal documents.
Some people are actually born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't fit traditional sex binaries of male and female. This is generally called 'intersex', and intersex people too may have periods.
Intersex variations are not abnormal and should not be seen as 'birth defects'; they are natural biological variations and occur in up to 1.7 per cent of all births. Most people with intersex variations are not born with atypical genitalia, however this is common for certain intersex variations.
The person must have both ovarian and testicular tissue. This may be in the same gonad (an ovotestis), or the person might have 1 ovary and 1 testis. The person may have XX chromosomes, XY chromosomes, or both. The external genitals may be ambiguous or may appear to be female or male.
A person's gender identity may not always be exclusively male or female and may not always correspond with their sex assigned at birth. The majority of Australian states and territories already permit birth certificates that record an individual's sex as something other than male or female.
the right to life. the right to privacy, including a right to personal autonomy or self-determination regarding medical treatment. prohibitions against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. a right to physical integrity and/or bodily autonomy.
Romeo and Juliette laws
In most Australian states, provisions exist whereby it is a defence to a child sex offence if the participants were teenagers of a similar age in a consensual relationship.
Australia's gender pay gap by industry
The gender pay gap is highest in Construction (29%) and Financial and Insurance Services (28.6%). The gender pay gap was the smallest in Public Administration and Safety (3.7%). Accommodation and Food Services has the second-smallest gender pay gap at 6.9%.
The national gender pay gap, on base salary, is 13.3%. For every $1 men make on average, Australian women make 87 cents. On average, women working full-time earned a base salary of $1,653.60 per week, while men working full-time earned $1,907.10.
Under 18s. In Australia, trans young people may commence puberty blockers with permission from both carers or guardians, and their doctor. This is usually coordinated through a multi-disciplinary team, when available.
Costs. Phalloplasty can cost between $50,000 - and $80,000 in Australia, depending on the technique and surgeon, and additional costs can be included ie.
Explained: The 33 Gender Identities Recognised By The Australian Sex Survey.
Applying this more precise definition, the true prevalence of intersex is seen to be about 0.018%, almost 100 times lower than Fausto-Sterling's estimate of 1.7%. This statement actually contains two distinct definitions (separated by the word “or”) relating to phenotypes and chromosomes.
If a person's genitals look different from what doctors and nurses expect when they're born, someone might be identified as intersex from birth. Other times, someone might not know they're intersex until later in life, like when they go through puberty.