Birth certificate legislation in Australia
This table was originally published as part of an article for Crikey, and has been hosted here in an effort to provide a simple and regularly updated look at the legislative landscape of gender and birth certificates.
For tips, update requests or concerns, get in touch at @lizduckchong on via email
Last updated 13/07/2025
| State/ Territory |
Administering body | Surgical intervention required | Fee | Options available | Gender optional on birth certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACT | Access Canberra | No | $126 - Registration and certificate | Sex descriptor of choice | Yes |
| NSW | Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages | No | $70 - Altered record; $68 for altered certificate | Female, Male, Non-binary, Non-specified. | No |
| NT | Births, Deaths and Marriages | No 1 | $56 | Male, Female, Non-binary, Unspecified | No |
| QLD | Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces | No | $130.40 + $56.20 certificate | Male, Female, or a written in term of choice (eg. agender, genderqueer, and non-binary.) | Yes |
| SA | Consumer and Business Services | No 1 | $139, or $381 with change of name | Male, Female, Non-binary, Indeterminate/ intersex/ unspecified | No |
| TAS | Births, Deaths and Marriages | No | $231.11 - Registration; $59.21 - Certificate | Male, Female, Non-binary, or a written in term of choice | Yes |
| WA | Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages | No 2 | $190 | Male, Female and Non-binary | No |
| VIC | Births, Deaths & Marriages Victoria | No | $144.6 - for registration and certificate, or for registration, certificate and change of name (plus postage) | A written in term of choice | No |
1 In order to apply, you must "have received appropriate clinical treatment related to your sex or gender such as: surgery, hormone therapy, or counselling"
2 Certifiying statements issued by a doctor or psychologist are required
Legislative history
2024 - 2023 - 2020 - 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016 - 2014 - 2013 - 2011
18 Oct 2024 - NSW
NSW Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023
Equality Bill passes in NSW, which allows changing of sex on birth certificate without surgery.
"The government says NSW has taken a "big step forward" after a bill allowing transgender people to change their birth certificates without having to undergo surgery passed the parliament." - ABC
30 Jan 2023 - QLD
Legislation has been introduced to change Queensland's birth certificate laws.
"Under the draft laws, a person wanting to formally register a change of sex would need a supporting statement from someone who has known them for at least 12 months. No surgery would be required." - SBS
1 May 2020 - VIC
"Trans and gender-diverse Victorians now have the freedom to choose the gender shown on their birth certificates without reassignment surgery." - SBS
2020 - ACT
People 12-17 in the ACT can apply to change their given names and/or sex, without parental consent for 16-17 year olds.
"You can only apply to change your given names. This means your first and middle names, but not your surname. The change must be made to better reflect your gender identity and not because you just don’t like your current name." - Access Canberra
27 August 2019 - VIC
Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 2019
Bill to allow TGD people to change sex on birth certificate passes in Victoria with a stat dec
"The bill requires the person making the application to make a statutory declaration when nominating the sex to be recorded, and must include a statement from an adult who has known them for 12 months or more who believes the application is being made in good faith and supports the change." - The Guardian
10 April 2019 - TAS
Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendments) Bill 2018
Tasmania to be first Australian jurisdiction to make gender markers optional on birth certificates
""For transgender and gender diverse Tasmanians they can actually get, without stupid barriers, identity documents that actually match who they are as people in the world," [Martine Delaney[] said." - ABC News
29 November 2018 - NT
Surgical intervention optional for birth certificate changes
"The laws, which are likely to be passed through parliament on Thursday, will allow people to identify as non-binary on their birth certificate, acknowledge intersex on birth certificates and allow transgender people to change the sex listed on their birth certificate without them having undergone any gender reassignment surgery. Instead, they will be asked to have undergone "appropriate medical treatment", which will likely be psychological support." - ABC News
9 December 2017 - National
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 (December 2017)
Same sex marriage legal in Australia
"When the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 passed in December last year, with it came a repeal of the state and territory exemption in the Sex Discrimination Act — essentially, the legislation that allows states to uphold compulsory divorce for transgender Australians wanting to change their birth certificate. Ostensibly, this seems like great news for trans Australians as it means it will officially become unlawful to refuse a change of sex on one’s birth certificate based on their marital status. There’s a catch, though: states and territories have been given 12 months to update their laws concerning compulsory divorce." - Crikey
December 2016 - SA
Births, Deaths and Marriages (Gender Identity) Amendment Bill 2016
People aged over 18 will no longer need to apply to the court to change sex or gender identity.
"Under the current Act, people wishing to change the registered gender on their birth certificate have to show proof of surgery and/or hormone treatment and make an application to a Magistrate. The changes will mean they need only a declaration from a medical professional confirming that they are receiving or have received “appropriate clinical treatment”, which might include counselling. The Bill means new birth certificates will also show only the altered record of sex or gender identity, and not the fact that this has been changed." - In Daily
2 April 2014 - NSW
High Court declares "not all human beings can be classified by sex as either male or female"
"When the case was heard in the High Court last month, counsel for the Registrar had argued that the acceptance of more than two categories of sex would cause unacceptable confusion. But the judges rejected this argument. "For the most part, the sex of the individuals concerned is irrelevant to legal relations,'' their judgment says." - The Sydney Morning Herald
20 March 2014 - ACT
Births, Deaths and Marriages Amendment Act 2014
Surgical intervention optional for birth certificate changes
"...the new laws will allow someone to identify as male, female or ''X'', without surgery. All they need is for a doctor or psychologist to certify they have received ''appropriate clinical treatment'' - which is deliberately not defined, leaving it to the doctor or psychologist." - Canberra Times
March 2013 - ACT
Publication of Beyond the Binary: legal recognition of sex and gender diversity in the ACT
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