Trans and gender-diverse Western Australians will no longer have to undergo medical or surgical reassignment to register a change of sex or gender, under proposed new laws.
And while they will be able to apply directly to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, applicants will need a statement by a medical practitioner or psychologist to confirm they have received appropriate clinical treatment.
The Births, Deaths, Marriages Registration Amendment (Sex or Gender Changes) Bill 2024 will abolish the Gender Reassignment Board that assesses applications, bringing WA into line with other States.
The proposed reforms, which were introduced to State Parliament this week, move to implement the recommendations made by the Law Reform Commission of WA back in 2022.
The evidence required to support an application will now be a statement from a medical practitioner or psychologist certifying the person has undergone appropriate clinical treatment, which may include counselling.
The same test has been used in other Australian jurisdictions, including the Commonwealth, in relation to recording sex or gender on Australian passports, and means that the gender descriptor of ‘non-binary’ will be available for West Australians, in addition to ‘male,’ ‘female,’ and ‘indeterminate/intersex.’
“WA was the only jurisdiction where a Gender Reassignment Board determined a person’s application to change sex, and similarly, WA and NSW were the only Australian jurisdictions that required applicants to have undergone medical or surgical reassignment to change the sex on their birth certificate,” Attorney General John Quigley said.
Stricter rules will apply in respect of people under the age of 18, including parental consent or permission from the Family Court of WA in certain circumstances, and the reform does not change the existing procedures that relate to the registration of sex on a birth certificate when a child is born.
However, the State’s decision comes on the heels of the recent and controversial results of the UK’s Cass Review, which found that “the evidence on the use of puberty blockers and hormones for children and young people experiencing gender related distress was wholly inadequate, making it impossible to gauge their effectiveness or their impact on mental and physical health.”
Dr Hilary Cass, who led the review, said that of the 50 studies included that examined the effectiveness of puberty blockers for gender questioning teens, only one was of high quality, leading the authors to conclude that although most of the studies suggested that treatment may impact bone health and height: “No conclusions can be drawn about the impact on gender-dysphoria, mental and psychosocial health, or cognitive development.”
Similarly, of the 53 studies included in the review on the use of masculinising and feminising hormones, only one was of sufficiently high quality.
“Equally concerning was another review in the series concluded that most of the 23 clinical guidelines were not independent or evidence based,” Dr Cass said.
A fourth review noted that while the guidelines agreed on the need for psychosocial support, there was no consensus on who should be involved in providing this, or whether provision should be different for children and teens.
“And there’s virtually no guidance on how best to support those who’ve not yet reached puberty or whose identity is non-binary,” Dr Cass said.
“There is no evidence to suggest that puberty blockers help children and young people “buy time to think” or improve their psychological wellbeing.
“The only thing that we can tangibly say is that, particularly for the birth registered males, if you stop them breaking their voice and growing facial hair, then they may pass better in adulthood. But even that is not without qualification.”
Dr Cass said there was a point when “practice did deviate from the clinical evidence” and added that “unfortunately, there was no evidence that gender affirming treatment in its broadest sense, reduces suicide risk.”