Sex change without surgery a step closer to becoming law

People will be able to change the sex on their birth certificate without reassignment surgery under laws to come before Queensland Parliament. VOTE IN OUR POLL

Queensland government laws that will allow someone to change the sex on their birth certificate without undergoing sexual reassignment surgery have been greenlit by a parliamentary committee.

The Labor-controlled parliamentary legal affairs and safety committee recommended in a new report on Friday that the sweeping changes pass the State’s Parliament.

But the committee has also recommended that Queensland government agencies audit the laws they are responsible for, to determine if any further changes will be needed as a result of the reforms.

Under the laws introduced by Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman, sexual reassignment surgery will no longer be required for someone to change the sex listed on their birth certificate.

The laws will also allow children aged 12 to 16 to apply to the courts to change the sex on the certificate when they do not have the support of their parents.

The proposed laws attracted more than 380 submissions while it was scrutinised by the parliamentary committee.

In its report, the committee noted the Department of Justice and Attorney-General had already anticipated the potential impact of the proposed laws on other legislation.

“For this reason, we support the recommendation to conduct an audit of all legislation to identify amendments required as a result of the introduction of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Bill 2022,” the committee wrote in the report.