100 orgs urge Aussie gov't not to weaken trans protections: "It will create... more uncertainty & more harm."https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/09/100-orgs-urge-aussie-govt-not-to-weaken-trans-protections-it-will-create-more-uncertainty-more-harm/ 🔗Faefyx Collington (24 Sep 2026)
One hundred LGBTQ+ groups, women's organizations, disability groups, and mental health advocates have signed a letter urging members of the Australian Parliament not to alter the country's Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) to redefine "sex" and remove protections based on gender identity. The move comes after a motion to rewrite the SDA has been introduced twice as anti-trans activists continue to push for changes to the law.
"[It] would strip protections from transgender Australians and weaken safeguards for women more broadly. It would render entire groups of people invisible in law and trigger a cascade of damaging consequences," the letter, coordinated by Equality Australia, reads. "For decades, Australian governments have recognised transgender people in law and allowed amendments to identity documents. These protections have coexisted with women's rights without evidence of safety issues or systemic failures."
Australia amended its SDA in 2013 to expand the anti-discrimination clauses to include gender identity. The motion introduced in the Australian parliament by the right-wing Liberal-National Coalition would "reinstate references to 'opposite sex' rather than 'different sex' to remove the suggestion that sex exists on a spectrum or that sex relates to a subjective identification."
It would also "[amend] the definition of gender identity to make it clearer that it is a chosen self-classification and removes the reference to "designated sex at birth" to remove the suggestion that sex is not binary." As part of that, it would also "insert an express balancing clause that protects women's spaces and activities."-----------------------------
@Sarah B
