Almost everyone in Australia is allowed to change their gender on their legal documents. Victoria, a state in Australia, is the 5 state in the country that allowed citizens or people to alter their sex on their birth certificates.
Now, kids in the country are to be allowed to officially change their gender or identify as non-binary. But this is all allowed if their parents allow them to.
Earlier this week, the upper house of Victoria passed the bill 26-14. The bill will come in law after it receives royal assent.
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Minors are going to be allowed to change their gender on their birth certificates if a psychologist or a doctor gives out a statement that supports their gender change application.
South Australia, the Capital Territory of Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory have all approved bills that are similar to this.
Activists in Australia were happy with the new bill, and this is because of an existing law in Victoria that only allows transgender people to change their gender on their birth certificates if they undergo a sex reassignment surgery.
The new law was made after gender activists said that most people that are part of the transgender community could not afford to undergo sex reassignment surgeries as they are really expensive and invasive.
Jill Hennessy, an Attorney-General, said, “These important new laws are about ensuring everyone can live their life as they choose, and that includes having a birth certificate that reflects their true identity.”
Attorney-General Hennessy added, “The current surgery requirement sends a painful and false message that there is something wrong with being trans or gender diverse that needs to be ‘fixed’ – that’s why we’re removing this cruel and unfair barrier.”