Equal Identities Report

Summary

The Equal Identities report:

• found trans and gender diverse people experience signficant barriers to their personal safety, dignity and full participation in Australian society.
• draws on 97 public submissions as well as Australian and international research and academic literature.
• highlights how discrimination impacts trans and gender diverse people across many domains of life, including in education, healthcare, workplaces, housing and the criminal justice system.
• makes 19 recommendations to federal, state and territory governments and service providers that are grounded in Australia’s human rights obligations.

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Equal Identities Report

LGBTIQA+

Report

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Overview

Equal Identities explores challenges facing trans and gender diverse people across all domains of Australian society. It draws on the expertise, insight, lived and living experience shared in 97 submissions, as well as Australian and international research. It identifies what must change to ensure trans and gender diverse people can fully realise their human rights.

Equal Identities identifies significant and preventable barriers to trans and gender diverse people’s safety, dignity and full participation in society. These barriers span all domains of life, including healthcare, housing, education, employment and public life, and are often intensified for trans and gender diverse people who also experience racism, ableism, ageism and other forms of marginalisation. Trans and gender diverse children and young people also face additional, distinct challenges.

The findings and recommendations are organised around 3 interconnected themes:

• being safe
• being seen and heard (dignity)
• being able to participate.

Methodology

The Commission reviewed a wide range of Australian and international research and considered 97 submissions, including but not limited to subject matter experts from:

• academics and research institutions
• advocacy and activist organisations and groups
• community-controlled health organisations
• healthcare professionals and organisations
• legal professionals and organisations
• policy makers and workers
• service providers

Being safe

Violence and harassment: Trans and gender diverse people report high levels of physical, sexual and technology-facilitated violence and harassment – in public, at home and online – with significant impacts on health and wellbeing. Abuse also targets allies and people perceived as gender nonconforming.

Gaps in legislation and inconsistent anti-discrimination and anti-vilification protections across states and territories create confusion and barriers for trans and gender diverse people seeking safety, protection and redress.

Online safety: Exposure to sustained online hate, disinformation and coordinated harassment (including doxxing) undermines dignity, privacy and participation. Platform policy changes, weak moderation and algorithmic amplification of hostile content are increasing harm, especially for trans and gender diverse young people.

Forcibly displaced people: Trans and gender diverse refugees and asylum seekers face persecution risks, difficult immigration processes, limited access to safe services and safety concerns in immigration detention. These barriers are especially challenging because immigration systems and support services rarely reflect or accommodate gender diversity.

Justice, policing and incarceration: Many trans and gender diverse people report dehumanising, discriminatory and violent practices from administrators, managers and other workers across police, courts and prison and detention systems. In prisons, trans and gender diverse people face increased risk of violence, extended solitary confinement (framed as ‘protective custody’), barriers to accessing healthcare and difficulties with legal recognition. Best practice highlights justice reinvestment and alternatives to imprisonment.

Housing: Trans and gender diverse people experience homelessness and housing stress at higher than average rates. Discrimination occurs across private rentals, social housing and crisis accommodation. Service delivery models based on gender can also exclude or endanger trans and gender diverse people seeking crisis accommodation or assistance.

Being seen and heard (dignity)

Data and research: Australia lacks robust, consistent population data on trans and gender diverse communities. This limits policy design, service delivery and accountability. The ABS Standard for Sex, Gender, Variations of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation Variables (2020) provides best practice questions about sex recorded at birth, gender, sexual orientation and variations of sex characteristics.

Health and wellbeing: Trans and gender diverse people experience poorer health outcomes. These are often the result of stigma, discrimination and service inaccessibility. Systemic barriers include long wait times, costs, under resourced services, limited provider training, as well as experiences of misgendering, deadnaming and privacy breaches.

Gender-affirming healthcare: Gender-affirming healthcare is an evidence-informed, individualised suite of social and clinical support. It may include gender-affirming hormone therapy and, for young people, puberty suppression under clinical governance. Contemporary standards and reviews indicate that gender-affirming healthcare produces positive outcomes. However, there are many barriers to access, including cost, geography, gaps in professional training and the spread of false information.

Legal recognition: Many trans and gender diverse people face challenges updating their name and gender marker across identity documents and systems (including health, employment checks and crisis services). Best practice is self-determination in legal recognition, with streamlined, accessible and nationally consistent processes.

Being able to participate

Religion: Broad religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws create uncertainty about whether trans and gender diverse people can access education and other services delivered by religious bodies. Many of these services have government funding. Clear, consistent protections are needed to ensure access and safety.

Education: From early learning to tertiary contexts, students require clear policies, trained staff and inclusive environments to learn safely.

Employment: Discrimination persists in recruitment, career progression and workplace culture. A positive duty would require employers to be proactive at preventing discrimination and harassment of trans and gender diverse employees and clients.

Sport: Recent public discussions have contributed to increasing exclusion of trans and gender diverse people from sport. Policies on trans and gender diverse participation in sport should be evidence-based, aligned with human rights standards and proportionate to the level and nature of each sport. Community sport should emphasise broad participation.

Recommendations

The recommendations focus on:

• establishing mechanisms within federal, state and territory governments to ensure that trans and gender diverse experiences and expertise are considered in the development of policy, programs and frameworks that affect them
• introducing or amending legislation and policies to ensure that trans and gender diverse people are consistently protected from hate speech and harmful conversion practices
• ensuring that trans and gender diverse people have equal access to public services, including education and housing
• ensuring that the criminal justice system and healthcare sector have the education and support to ensure that trans and gender diverse people can enjoy their right to health and to legal redress.