The Australian Human Rights Commission report Equal Identities A human rights review of the experiences of trans and gender diverse people in Australia features the following recommendations
Recommendation 1 Federal, state and territory governments should introduce consistent legislation to protect LGBTIQA+ people and their associates from vilification, incitement of hatred and threats of physical harm. b. develop initiatives to build workforce capacity and understanding of how intersecting forms of discrimination can affect trans and gender diverse people’s experiences of domestic, family and sexual violence Governments should design these laws in consultation with LGBTIQA+ communities, including trans and gender diverse communities, and should include both civil prohibitions and criminal offences. c. strengthen relationships and cross- capacity building between the DFSVC, crisis response services and trans and gender diverse stakeholders.
Recommendation 2 The Australian Government Department of Social Services should require and report on LGBTIQA+ and trans and gender diverse representation in their workforce and on key advisory groups, committees and rapid reviews in key areas such as housing, domestic, sexual and family violence prevention, and community services. The Australian Government Attorney General’s Department, along with state and territory governments, should establish LGBTIQA+ justice working groups that include trans and gender diverse representation. The working groups should protect the human rights of trans and gender diverse people by: a. working with criminal justice systems (police, courts and prison systems) to design and monitor policies and practices b. working with the trans and gender diverse community to develop methods to identify and track hate crimes, including community reporting mechanisms
Recommendation 3 The Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission (DFSVC) should establish an ongoing LGBTIQA+ working group, including trans and gender diverse representation, to: a. c. advancing priority areas of justice and law reform, including decriminalisation of appropriate offences, justice reinvestment and measures to address and prevent discriminatory behaviours. provide advice on initiatives to prevent and respond to gender- based violence, including implementation of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022–2032
Recommendation 5 Federal, state and territory governments should provide sustainable, targeted funding to address capacity gaps in legal service provision for trans and gender diverse people, as identified in the 2025 report ‘A Blueprint for Equality: Resourcing LGBTIQA+ Community Legal Centres’.
Recommendation 6 Federal, state and territory governments should ensure crisis accommodation and homelessness support services offer inclusive support and are adequately funded to do so. This includes increasing sector-wide awareness, understanding and capabilities about intersecting marginalisations which affect trans and gender diverse people from diverse backgrounds.
Recommendation 7 All government, government-affiliated and government-funded bodies that collect demographic data should ensure data on gender, sexuality and innate variations of sex characteristics (sometimes known as intersex variations) is collected in line with the ABS Standard for Sex, Gender, Variations of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation Variables (2020). This includes: a. collecting data on gender identity from everybody to ensure that health and support services have the data necessary to meet the needs of trans and gender diverse children and adolescents b. implementing new data collection protocols in partnership with LGBTIQA+ and trans and gender diverse specific organisations to establish community trust and ensure privacy and sensitivity concerns are understood.
Recommendation 8 The Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing should require and report on LGBTIQA+ and trans and gender diverse representation in their workforce and on key advisory groups, committees and rapid reviews. The Department should also establish a specific ongoing LGBTIQA+ Health Advisory Group to: a. provide advice on matters relating to trans and gender diverse health, and LGBTIQA+ health more broadly b. provide advice on relevant government initiatives affecting LGBTIQA+ communities, such as the National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2035 and the National Action Plan for the Health and Wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ People 2025–2035 c. advise on LGBTIQA+ health data collection and contribute to the continuous improvement of the Health Data Portal and key national data sets.
Recommendation 9 Federal, state and territory governments should reduce barriers that prevent trans and gender diverse people from accessing all forms of healthcare, including gender- affirming healthcare. Reducing barriers includes: a. increasing staff and service resourcing to meet urgent needs on existing waitlists for publicly funded hospitals and clinics b. running proactive public awareness campaigns that address misinformation and disinformation which target trans and gender diverse people’s healthcare
Recommendation 10 Federal, state and territory governments should introduce or amend legislation to ban conversion or suppression practices. This legislation should follow the following principles: c. funding service access for trans and gender diverse people in remote, rural and regional communities. a. design the legislative framework in consultation with survivors of conversion or suppression practices. b. apply the ban on conversion and suppression practices to both religious and secular settings
Recommendation 11 Healthcare providers and education and training institutions (i.e. universities, TAFEs) should ensure that all healthcare and healthcare-adjacent workers and students receive education and ongoing professional development on inclusive care for trans and gender diverse people. This includes awareness of how intersecting forms of discrimination can affect trans and gender diverse people’s health and access to healthcare services.
Recommendation 12 b. apply the ban on conversion and suppression practices to both religious and secular settings Federal, state and territory governments should: c. make it unlawful to take someone out of the jurisdiction for conversion or suppression practices a. end pauses on puberty suppressants and other hormone therapies for children and young people d. allow reporting by third parties e. carefully define and provide examples of what is and is not a conversion or suppression practice f. b. ensure that, in line with other areas of adolescent medicine, Gillick competence and clinical standards of care are the framework guiding the provision of healthcare to trans and gender diverse children and young people. include an education plan which covers: i. who is protected by the law ii. how to identify conversion or suppression practices iii. awareness of harm caused by conversion or suppression practices. 1
Recommendation 13 The Australian Government should repeal Section 43A of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth).
Recommendation 14 The Australian Government should: a. amend section 37(1)(d) and repeal section 38 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) and make consequential amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), as recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission in its 2024 report ‘Maximising the Realisation of Human Rights: Religious Educational Institution and Anti- Discrimination Laws’ b. request the Australian Law Reform Commission to further review and make recommendations about how to amend the exemption for religious bodies under section 37(1)(d) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth).
Recommendation 15 State and territory governments should review and amend their anti- discrimination legislation to ensure that trans and gender diverse people have equal access to publicly funded services, including those provided by religious bodies.
Recommendation 16 The Australian Government Department of Education should require LGBTIQA+ and trans and gender diverse representation on key advisory groups, committees and rapid reviews. The Department should also establish an LGBTIQA+ Youth Advisory Group to provide input into: a. education policy settings b. the role of teachers c. curriculum content d. targeted anti-bullying program support.
Recommendation 17 Federal, state and territory education departments should review their current policies, practices and curricula to ensure that they support an inclusive model. This model should embed inclusion of trans and gender diverse students as part of teacher training and professional development for all staff across all levels of government funded education institutions.
Recommendation 18 Educational institutions receiving government funding should have policies to prevent discrimination and harassment of trans and gender diverse students, staff and parents.
Recommendation 19 The Australian Government should expand the positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) to cover protected attributes outlined in sections 5A, 5B and 5C of the Act.