Sharp drop in number of Victorian police identifying as non-binary amid clothing probe

There has been a sudden drop in the number of police identifying as non-binary as the force investigates whether its $1200 clothing allowance is being rorted.

Chief commissioner Shane Patton is probing claims on the non-uniform clothing allowance. Picture: Jason Edwards

The number of police identifying as non-binary has dropped amid new rules and warnings of an internal investigation.

Latest Victoria Police figures show that there are now 83 employees who are self-described on the force’s HR Assist workplace program.

That is down from 127 listed as not male or female at the end of last month.

The Herald Sun last month revealed concerns police were ticking the non-binary box to exploit higher clothing allowances available to women.

That default to the female allowance meant an extra $1200 over the payment for men.

At one stage, there was one new employee a day self-describing.

There has been a sharp drop in police identifying as non-binary.

Professional standards command was brought in to examine the claims of rorting by some nominating as gender neutral.

A Victoria Police spokesman said the force was committed to ensuring employees were paid the civilian clothing allowance that “best aligns with their clothing requirements.”

“To ensure the payment goes to those it is intended for, a statutory declaration is now required for police who list their gender as self-described and wish to claim the female civilian clothing allowance due to their gender expression,” the spokesman said.

The stat dec requirement will apply to new and existing recipients of the allowance, which is paid fortnightly.

“These changes were made after seeking input from Victoria Police employee networks,” the statement said.

The force has 16,292 police, 4836 of whom are female and a total of 11,373 males.