LGBT rights in Tasmania

LGBTQ rights in Tasmania

Tasmania (Australia)

Status| Always legal for women; legal for men since 1997
Gender identity| Change of sex marker on birth certificate does not require sex reassignment surgery
Discrimination protections| Since 1999 under state law and since 2013 under federal law
Family rights
Recognition of relationships| Same-sex marriage since 2017;
Registered relationships since 2003
Adoption| Full adoption rights since 2013

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Australian state of Tasmania have the same legal rights as non-LGBT people. Tasmania has a transformative history with respect to the rights of LGBT people. Initially dubbed "Bigots' Island" by international media due to intense social and political hostility to LGBT rights up until the late 1990s,[1] the state has subsequently been recognised for LGBT law reforms that have been described by activists such as Rodney Croome as among the most extensive and noteworthy in the world.[2][3] Tasmania's criminal penalties for homosexual activity were the harshest in the Western world when they were repealed in 1997. It was the last Australian jurisdiction to decriminalise homosexuality after a United Nations Human Rights Committee ruling, the passage of federal sexual privacy legislation and a High Court challenge to the state's anti-homosexuality laws.[4][5] Following decriminalisation, social and political attitudes in the state rapidly shifted in favour of LGBT rights ahead of national trends with strong anti-LGBT discrimination laws passed in 1999,[6] and the first state relationship registration scheme to include same-sex couples introduced in 2003.[1][4] In 2019, Tasmania passed and implemented the world's most progressive gender-optional birth certificate laws.[7] In July 2023, the Tasmanian government officially included and also added "asexual or asexuality".[8]

Same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since December 2017, after passage of the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 in the Australian Parliament. The 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, designed to gauge public support for same-sex marriage in Australia, returned a 63.6% "Yes" response in Tasmania.

## Laws regarding sexual activity

[edit]

### History

[edit]

#### Official persecution

[edit]

Sodomy was originally outlawed throughout the island from the time of British settlement. The law was retained post federation as in all other Australian jurisdictions. Tasmania was the last British Empire outpost to carry out the death penalty for sodomy in 1867.[4] Over the subsequent hundred years, Tasmania had the highest rate of imprisonment for private consenting male sex anywhere in the world.[9]

In the late 1980s, Premier Robin Gray stated that homosexuals were unwelcome in Tasmania and police recorded the vehicle registration plates of people attending gay community meetings.[6] A gay rights stall set up in Salamanca Market in 1988 was repeatedly shut down by the Hobart City Council with over 120 people arrested by police.[3][4][10] By the early 1990s, the state had the harshest penalty for gay sex in the Western world at 21 years imprisonment.[4]

During the 1980s and early 1990s, six attempts at decriminalisation were emphatically rejected by the Tasmanian Legislative Council,[3] with politician Robert Archer calling for homosexuals to be "tracked down and wiped out" by police.[4] Social and political opinion remained sharply against gay rights until the late 1990s.[6] Many gay and lesbian Tasmanians responded to the hostile sentiment by either relocating to the mainland Australian cities of Sydney or Melbourne, living in the closet or committing suicide.[4] Recalling the personal impact of the 1990s decriminalisation debate, comedian Hannah Gadsby noted it led them to "rot quietly in self-hatred" and unable to develop an aptitude for relationships.[11][12]

#### UNHRC complaint and federal response

[edit]

Main article: Toonen v. Australia

The Tasmanian Parliament's repeated refusal to pass laws decriminalising private same-sex sexual acts resulted in local resident Nicholas Toonen bringing a human rights complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee,[13] which ruled in Toonen's favour on 31 March 1994. The Committee noted that "the criminalisation of homosexual practices cannot be considered a reasonable means or proportionate measure to achieve the aim of preventing the spread of AIDS/HIV," further noting that "The Australian Government observes that statutes criminalising homosexual activity tend to impede public health programmes by driving underground many of the people at the risk of infection."[14] Gay activists and Amnesty International also mounted a campaign in favour of reform including demonstrations in the state and elsewhere, holding meetings between LGBTI Tasmanians and community groups across the state and gay men self-reporting their then-illegal consensual activities to police to illustrate that the laws were unenforceable, given that police would not prosecute them on the basis that it was not in the public interest.[4][6]

Although the UNHRC decision of 31 March 1994 effectively called on the federal Keating government to overturn Tasmania's anti-homosexuality laws, Keating and his Attorney-General Michael Lavarch were initially slow to act, considering it a low-priority issue.[15] The continued criminalisation led to a petition signed by 12,000 people and a "Buy Right" boycott campaign targeting Tasmanian tourism and produce until the laws were repealed.[15][16]

Four months after the UNHRC decision and after failing to persuade the Tasmanian Government to repeal the offending laws, the Keating government passed the Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994, with section 4 legalising sexual activity between consenting adults throughout Australia and prohibiting any laws that arbitrarily interfere with the sexual conduct of adults in private.[17] Lavarch stated the Tasmanian law was "an obnoxious criminal provision which doesn't exist anywhere else in Australia and is inconsistent with Australia's human-rights obligations".[16]

The Catholic Right members of the Australian Labor Party initially opposed the federal legislation but ultimately agreed to support its passage, while the issue split the opposition Coalition, with many members exercising their conscience vote against it and replacing their relatively progressive leader Alexander Downer with the more conservative John Howard.[15] This law did not directly invalidate the Tasmanian law, as the Keating government preferred to avoid a challenge from conservative states about states rights and instead rely on the High Court to indirectly overturn the Tasmanian law.[18] This approach was criticised by activists and academics for abdicating the political responsibility of legislators for an uncomfortable issue to the courts.[18]

#### High Court case and decriminalisation

[edit]

Activist Rodney Croome was named the 2015 Tasmanian Australian of the Year for his LGBT rights work including the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Tasmania.

On 14 November 1995, Nick Toonen and his then-partner Rodney Croome applied to the High Court of Australia for a ruling that Tasmania's anti-gay laws were constitutionally overridden by the Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994 and therefore invalid.[4][18] The case was taken by Alan Goldberg QC, who provided his services pro bono after Croome and Toonen were denied legal aid to mount the case despite fulfilling the criteria for funding as a public interest test case.[18]

In 1996, the state Liberal Government of Tony Rundle changed its position on gay law reform from opposition to allowing a conscience vote after failing in its attempts to have the High Court matter struck out and amid growing local support for reform.[19][20] The Tasmanian Greens under Christine Milne then began to push vigorously for law reform.[20]

As a result of these changes, on 1 May 1997, a law formally repealing its anti-homosexuality laws passed in the Tasmanian Legislative Council by one vote.[21][4][20] The age of consent in Tasmania is 17 years and is equal for all forms of sexual activity.[22]

### Historical conviction expungement scheme

[edit]

In December 2015, the Tasmanian Liberal Government announced it would introduce legislation in the Tasmanian Parliament to expunge historic criminal records for consensual homosexual sexual activity.[23] This announcement followed a report released by the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner in April 2015 which recommended the establishment of such a scheme and how it should be modelled.[24] Individuals charged with offences pertaining to homosexual sexual conduct prior to its decriminalisation in 1997 will be able to submit an application with the state's Secretary of the Department of Justice to have such charges removed from their criminal records.[23] A draft bill was released by the Department of Justice in June 2016.[25]

On 6 April 2017, the Expungement of Historical Offences Bill 2017 was introduced to the Tasmanian House of Assembly by Attorney-General Vanessa Goodwin.[26] The bill would allow those who were convicted of homosexual sexual offences (prior to its decriminalisation in Tasmania in 1997) and cross-dressing (which was an offence under the Police Offences Act 1935, until being repealed in 2001) to apply to the Secretary for the Department of Justice, or have a person apply on their behalf if deceased, to have their conviction expunged.[27][28][29] The bill was debated in the Assembly on 13 April,[30] and was passed in the Assembly on 2 May 2017.[31][26] It then proceeded to the mostly independent Legislative Council for consideration, where a first reading was held on 19 May 2017.[26] The bill was debated in the council on 20 and 21 September 2017, passing the council on the latter date.[26][32] Several amendments designed to streamline procedures relating to applications, the treatment of sensitive data and the decision-making process were agreed to by the council.[32] The Assembly agreed to the council's amendments on 18 October 2017, and the bill became an Act of Parliament by royal assent on 21 November 2017.[33] The law went into effect on 9 April 2018.[34] Schemes of this nature exist in all other jurisdictions of Australia.

As of November 2020, a proposal to establish a compensation scheme for individuals convicted of same-sex sexual activity or cross dressing prior to 1997 and 2001 respectively is being drafted.[35][36][37]

### Parliamentary apology

[edit]

On 13 April 2017, the Tasmanian Government, represented by Premier Will Hodgman, issued an official parliamentary apology to members of the LGBT community in Tasmania who had been historically affected by laws which criminalised homosexuality in the state until 1997. Hodgman stated that "it is [the government's] view that the broader Tasmanian community would believe that people should never have been charged or convicted in the first place, even if it was thought at the time it was the right thing to do, it was not".[38] Leader of the Opposition Rebecca White also issued an official apology, saying an apology was "long overdue" for the "terrible injustice done as a result of these laws". Cassy O'Connor, leader of the Greens, asked the LGBTI Tasmanian community "to forgive us for not holding you in our arms".[38][39]

## Recognition of same-sex relationships

[edit]

Main article: Recognition of same-sex unions in Tasmania

Tasmania's Relationships Act 2003 provides for registration and recognition of a type of registered partnership in two distinct categories: significant relationships and caring relationships. The same Act also amended 73 pieces of legislation to provide registered partners with nearly all of the rights offered to married couples within the state. Furthermore, since July 2009, these relationships are recognised at the federal level, providing couples with almost all of the federal rights and benefits of marriage. The legislation came into effect on 1 January 2004. In September 2010, the Parliament of Tasmania approved legislation to recognise same-sex unions performed outside Tasmania as significant relationships.[40][41][42][43]

### Significant and caring relationships

[edit]

Both same-sex and opposite-sex couples can register a significant relationship if both are unrelated, unmarried adults living in Tasmania. Tasmania introduced the scheme in 2003, becoming the first state in Australia to establish a relationship registration scheme that was open to all couples.[1]

Likewise, two adults residing in Tasmania, related or not, can register a caring relationship if one provides the other with domestic support and personal care. The parties cannot be married to each other, cannot be in an existing significant or caring relationship, and neither can be receiving payment for the care of the other either from employment or government departments.

Both types of relationships provide identical rights in the following areas:[44][45]

* Superannuation (pension/retirement benefits)
* Taxation
* Insurance
* Health care
* Hospital visitation
* Wills
* Property division
* Employment conditions (such as parenting and bereavement leave)

Couples entering into a significant or caring relationship must sign a Deed of Relationship document. This is registered with the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The registry then issues a certificate of registration, which is evidence of a personal relationship (significant or caring). Consequently, the relationship will be legally recognised without having to satisfy any other criteria to prove its existence.[46] Upon entering into a Deed of Relationship, couples are allowed to have a state-sanctioned ceremony to celebrate their union.[47]

### Recognition from other jurisdictions

[edit]

Since being elected in 2007, the then-Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, had been encouraging all states to create relationship registers identical to Tasmania's model in order to create nationwide uniformity and consistent rights, while at the same time not supporting anything that appears too similar to marriage. The Australian Commonwealth Government also recognises a Tasmanian registered partnership as a "de facto relationship" under federal law. De facto couples, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, have been entitled to nearly all of the federal rights of marriage since 1 July 2009.

In September 2010, the Tasmanian Parliament passed legislation to recognise out-of-state same-sex unions as significant relationships.[40][41][42][43]

### Same-sex marriage

[edit]

Same-sex marriage became legal in Tasmania, and in the rest of Australia, in December 2017, after the Federal Parliament passed a law legalising same-sex marriage.[48]

Prior to this, Tasmania did attempt to legalise same-sex marriage at a state-based level. In August 2012, Premier Lara Giddings announced that Tasmania would pass new laws allowing same-sex couples to marry.[49] However, although the same-sex marriage bill passed 13–11 in the lower house, the Legislative Council rejected the bill 6–8 on 27 September 2012.[50] In December 2013, the Australian Capital Territory's same-sex marriage legislation was declared unconstitutional by the High Court of Australia due to inconsistency with the federal Marriage Act 1961. This meant that the state parliaments did not have the legal capacity to legislate for same-sex marriage even if they wanted to.[51]

On 19 November 2015, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania passed a motion by a vote of 15–9, calling on the Federal Government to pass a same-sex marriage bill based on a conscience vote.[52][53][54][55] Both Western Australia and New South Wales also passed similar motions. On 9 August 2016, the Tasmanian upper house also passed a motion in favour of same-sex marriages.[56] The vote was 8–5.[57]

Motion wording:

> 1\. Notes Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Assembly and community hold various views on the issue of marriage equality
>  2\. Wishes our federal colleagues a respectful debate that is tolerant of all views
>  3\. Notes the importance of MPs being free to express their own view and the views of their electorates on this issue

## Adoption and parenting rights

[edit]

Tasmanian law allows same-sex couples to adopt. The Adoption Act 1988 states that "an order for the adoption of a child may be made in favour of two persons who, for a period of not less than 3 years before the date on which the order is made, have been married to each other or have been the parties to a significant relationship which is the subject of a deed of relationship registered under Part 2 of the Relationships Act 2003."[58] The Adoption Act 1988 was amended by the Parliament in June 2013 to allow same-sex couples to adopt children not known to them.[59] This made Tasmania the fourth jurisdiction in Australia at the time to grant same-sex couples full joint adoption legal rights.

Under section 10C of the Status of Children Act 1974, same-sex partners of women who give birth to children conceived through sperm donation, IVF or other artificial reproductive technology (ART) are presumed to be the child's other parent or co-mother in the same way as male partners of heterosexual women.[60] Both mothers can be placed on the birth certificate, allowing such couples to have access to the same rights of/for their children (such as medical or hospital forms, education processes, access to entitlements, etc.). The legislation on parentage from IVF is retrospective, meaning the law applied to co-mothers before it went into effect.[60] Section 29 of the Adoption Act allows the female partner of the birth mother to adopt the child born as a result of the ART process.[61]

In 2012, Tasmania passed two pieces of legislation to legally allow altruistic surrogacy. The two laws are called the Surrogacy Act No 34 and the Surrogacy (Consequential Amendments) Act No 31.[62][63] Proposed altruistic surrogacy legislation was drafted and passed by both houses of the Tasmanian Parliament, after a review of the Surrogacy Contracts Act 1993 No 4,[64][65] and after an ongoing community consultation process. Under the altruistic surrogacy legislation, the surrogate must be at least 25 years old and it cannot be her first pregnancy. The new altruistic surrogacy laws went into effect on 1 May 2013.[62]

## Discrimination protections

[edit]

The Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas) is a state law that prohibits "discrimination and other specified conduct" (called "prohibited conduct" in the Act) and provides "for the investigation and conciliation of, and inquiry into, complaints" of discrimination and prohibited conduct.[66] The Act outlaws discrimination in Tasmania on a wide variety of attributes, including gender, lawful sexual activity, actual or perceived sexual orientation and/or gender identity.[67] In September 2013, the Act was amended to extend protections to transgender and intersex people, whilst also extending protections from offensive conduct to prohibit a person from offending, humiliating, intimidating, insulting or ridiculing another person on the basis of their actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation and/or gender identity.[68]

Federal law also protects LGBTI people in Tasmania in the form of the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013.[69]

### Lawsuit banning transgender individuals

[edit]

In July 2021, a lawsuit was filed in court to banning transgender individuals in biological female spaces within Tasmania \- due to recent laws on birth certificates implemented in 2019.[70][71]

## Transgender rights

[edit]

Main article: Transgender rights in Australia

In line with its transformation on other LGBT issues, Tasmania's approach to transgender people has changed from strong opposition to one of the most liberal in the world.[72] It was the only Australian state to criminalise cross-dressing, decriminalising it in 2001.[72] Before 2019, Tasmania allowed for a change of sex to be recognised though mandated that the person in question divorce if married and undergo sex reassignment surgery.[73] In February 2016, the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner proposed among other things that those two requirements be removed and that a "non-binary" sex descriptor be added.[74]

In October 2018, the Liberal government introduced legislation to the Parliament repealing the requirement that one must be "unmarried" for a change of sex to be registered on one's birth certificate.[75] The requirement for sex reassignment surgery remained, a point which was criticised by transgender advocates.[76] In response, the opposition Labor Party and the Greens successfully passed several amendments to the bill when it was debated in the Assembly on 20 November 2018.[77] As well as removing the forced divorce requirement, the amended bill also repealed the requirement for sex reassignment surgery and any medical requirement; gender change would only require a simple declaration. The bill allows parents to choose whether their child's gender is recorded on birth certificates, lowered the age a person can change their legal gender without parental permission to sixteen, and allows parents to change the legal gender of their children. It extended the time limit for parents of intersex children to register their child's birth (to 120 days after birth).[77] Individuals were also permitted to remove a gender descriptor entirely from their birth certificate and state anti-discrimination law was updated to incorporate gender expression.[77] While these changes were opposed by the Liberal government, they passed due to the decisive vote of the Liberal Speaker, Sue Hickey, who voted against party lines.[77] The bill proceeded to the independent-dominated Legislative Council.[75] The bill had originally been scheduled for debate by the Council in November 2018, but the government delayed consideration until March 2019, citing opposition to the amendments passed against its wishes in the Assembly.[78] The bill's second reading was passed with minor amendments attached in the Legislative Council on 4 April 2019.[79] The amended bill returned to the Assembly for approval of the council's amendments on 10 April 2019. Once again the bill passed with the support of Labor, the Greens and Liberal Speaker Sue Hickey.[80][81][75] The bill received royal assent on 8 May 2019, with the majority of the bill commencing on the same day.[82] The parts that contains amendments to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1999 went into effect on 5 September 2019.[82]

The laws were supported by transgender rights group Transforming Tasmania and long time LGBT activist Rodney Croome and opposed by the Tasmanian Liberal Party and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.[83]

## Intersex rights

[edit]

Main article: Intersex rights in Australia

In March 2017, representatives of Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia and Organisation Intersex International Australia participated in an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand consensus "Darlington Statement" by intersex community organizations and others.[84] The statement calls for legal reform, including the criminalization of deferrable intersex medical interventions on children, an end to legal classification of sex, and improved access to peer support.[84][85][86][87][88]

As of 1 August 2017, Tasmania is one of three states and territories to include protections specific to intersex people in anti-discrimination law. The other three jurisdictions are the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.[89][90]

## Summary table

[edit]

Same-sex sexual activity legal  |  (Since 1997 for men; always for women)

|

Equal age of consent  |  (Since 1997)
Anti-discrimination state laws for sexual orientation with no religious exemption  |  (Since 1999)
Anti-discrimination state laws for gender identity or expression with no religious exemption  |  (Since 2013)
Hate crime laws include sexual orientation  |  (Since 1999)[91]
Hate crime laws include gender identity or expression  |  (Since 2019)[91]
Laws against LGBT vilification  |
Same-sex marriages |  (Since 2017)
Recognition in state law of same-sex couples as domestic partners  |  (Since 2003)
Full joint adoption, IVF and altruistic surrogacy access and recognition for same-sex couples  |
Right to change legal gender without sex reassignment surgery | [80][75][92][82]
Gay sex criminal records expunged  |  (Since 2018)
Gay panic defence abolished  |
Conversion therapy on minors outlawed  |  (Proposed)
MSMs allowed to donate blood  | / (Since 2021; 3-month deferral period)[93]

## See also

[edit]

* Australia portal
* LGBTQ portal

* Transgender rights in Australia
* Intersex rights in Australia
* LGBT rights in Australia
* Same-sex marriage in Australia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Kirk, Alexandra (29 August 2003). "Tasmania passes law that recognises same-sex relationships". Radio National PM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 November 2016. "Rodney Croome: In the mid to late nineties, Tasmania became a by-word around the world for homophobia, intolerance and bigotry. In fact, in newspapers in Britain and Europe, Tasmania was referred to as 'Bigot's Island'. Now Tasmania has become another word for tolerance, inclusion and social justice."
2. ^ Jahshan, Elias (5 June 2014). "Last but not least: when Tasmania decriminalised homosexuality". Star Observer. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
3. ^ a b c Marks, Kathy (9 June 2013). "Bigots' Island becomes gay rights central: Tasmania is undergoing a remarkable cultural conversion". The Independent. Retrieved 23 November 2016. "Twenty years after being dubbed "Bigots' Island", Tasmania is shaking off its reputation as a bastion of conservatism so successfully that it now seems more like Progressive Central... The island state off mainland Australia was one of the last places in the Western world to decriminalise homosexuality. Mass rallies in the 1990s against repeal of the sodomy laws resounded to chants of "Kill them, kill them", and some politicians called for gay men to be whipped."
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Croome, Rodney (12 April 2014). "Gay activists fought a public battle for private rights". The Mercury. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 28 November 2016.[permanent dead link]
5. ^ Commons Librarian (22 December 2023). "Campaigns that Changed Tasmania". The Commons Social Change Library. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
6. ^ a b c d Croome, Rodney (January 2013). "Churning the mud – Griffith Review". Griffith Review. TASMANIA – The Tipping Point?. 39. Griffirth University. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
7. ^ "View - Tasmanian Legislation Online".
8. ^ https://qnews.com.au/tasmanian-government-officially-adds-the-a-to-lgbtiq/ [bare URL]
9. ^ Croome, Rodney (2006). "Homosexuality". In Alexander, Alison (ed.). The Companion to Tasmanian History. Hobart: Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, University of Tasmania. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
10. ^ "Gay rights campaigner's historic arrest made into stage play". www.abc.net.au. ABC. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
11. ^ Gadsby, Hannah (24 August 2016). "Oh hey guys…". Facebook. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
12. ^ Soldani, Bianca (25 August 2016). "Comedian Hannah Gadsby shares her fears for the plebiscite in heartbreaking Facebook post". Topics - Sexuality. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
13. ^ Bull, Melissa; Pinto, Susan; Wilson, Paul (2 January 1991). "Homosexual Law Reform in Australia" (PDF). Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No. 29. Australian Institute of Criminology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
14. ^ Toonen, Nicholas (25 December 1991). "Toonen v. Australia University of Minnesota". University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
15. ^ a b c Grieg, Brian (29 March 2016). "History repeats: 20 years of political homophobia from the religious right". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
16. ^ a b Milliken, Robert (23 August 1994). "Canberra to overrule Tasmania gay ban". The Independent. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
17. ^ Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994 (Cth) s 4
18. ^ a b c d Croome, Rodney (December 1995). "Sexual (mis)conduct" (PDF). Alternative Law Journal. 20 (6): 282–284. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
19. ^ Gus Bernardi (2001). "From conflict to convergence: the evolution of Tasmanian anti-discrimination law". Australian Journal of Human Rights. Retrieved 25 June 2009. "Once standing was given the Tasmanian PLP Government did not wait for a High Court challenge and passed the Criminal Code Amendment Act 1997 which repealed the anti-gay provisions within the Tasmanian Criminal Code."
20. ^ a b c Croome, Rodney (2006). "Gay Law Reform". In Alexander, Alison (ed.). The Companion to Tasmanian History. Hobart: Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, University of Tasmania. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
21. ^ Carbery, Graham (2010). "Towards Homosexual Equality in Australian Criminal Law: A Brief History" (PDF) (2nd ed.). Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives Inc.
22. ^ "Age of consent laws". Child Family Community Australia. Australian Institute of Family Studies. April 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
23. ^ a b "Premier of Tasmania – Expunging historic homosexual convictions". premier.tas.gov.au. 17 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017.
24. ^ "Final Report: Treatment of historic criminal records for consensual homosexual sexual activity and related conduct" (PDF). Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2017.
25. ^ "DRAFT: Historical Homosexual Convictions Bill 2016" (PDF). Tasmanian Department of Justice. 15 June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2017.
26. ^ a b c d "Passage of Bills: Expungement of Historical Offences 17 of 2017". Parliament of Tasmania. 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
27. ^ "Second Reading Speech: Expungement of Historical Offences Bill 2017" (PDF). Hon. Matthew Groom MP. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2017.
28. ^ "Clause Notes: Expungement of Historical Offences Bill 2017" (PDF). Parliament of Tasmania. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2017.
29. ^ "Fact Sheet: Expungement of Historical Offences Bill 2017" (PDF). Parliament of Tasmania. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2017.
30. ^ "Hansard: Legislative Assembly" (PDF). Parliament of Tasmania. 13 April 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017. "Refer to pp. 54–90"
31. ^ "Hansard: Legislative Assembly" (PDF). Parliament of Tasmania. 2 May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017. "Refer to pp. 111–118"
32. ^ a b "Tasmania to wipe criminal records under new legislation". Northern Star. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
33. ^ "Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017". legislation.tas.gov.au. 21 November 2017.
34. ^ "Proclamation under the Expungement of Historical Offences Act 2017". legislation.tas.gov.au. 31 January 2018.
35. ^ Reid-Smith, Tris (18 November 2020). "Tasmania may pay compensation to LGBT+ people convicted under scrapped laws". GayStarNews.
36. ^ Padgett, Donald (18 November 2020). "This Australian State Might Pay Convicts of Past Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws". Out magazine.
37. ^ Hirst, Jordan (18 November 2020). "Tasmanians convicted under old anti-gay laws may get compensation". Qnews.com.au.
38. ^ a b "Tasmanian Government apologises for criminalisation of gay sexual acts". ABC News. 13 April 2017.
39. ^ "Tasmania apologies for unjust anti-LGBT criminal laws". Human Rights Law Centre. 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017.
40. ^ a b "RELATIONSHIPS AMENDMENT (RECOGNITION OF REGISTERED RELATIONSHIPS) BILL 2010" (PDF). Retrieved 11 May 2021.
41. ^ a b Potts, Andrew M (1 September 2010). "Tasmania votes to recognise foreign same-sex marriages". Star Observer. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
42. ^ a b "Tasmania to recognise same-sex marriage". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
43. ^ a b Noonan, Andie (7 October 2010). "Tasmania moves on marriage". Southern Star. Archived from the original on 11 October 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
44. ^ ""Relationships Act: The Tasmanian Approach"</". Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples. 3 April 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
45. ^ "Relationships". Births, Deaths and Marriages. Tasmanian Government. 1 July 2003. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
46. ^ "What is a Deed of Relationship?". Births, Deaths and Marriages. Tasmanian Government. 1 July 2003. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
47. ^ "Ceremonies". Births, Deaths and Marriages. Tasmanian Government. 1 July 2003. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
48. ^ "Same-sex marriage bill passes House of Representatives, paving way for first gay weddings". ABC News. 7 December 2017.
49. ^ Croome, Rodney (6 August 2012). "Tasmania is the logical 'first mover' on marriage equality". The National Times. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
50. ^ Larkins, Damien. "Same-sex marriage voted down in Tasmania". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
51. ^ "Commonwealth v Australian Capital Territory [2013] HCA 55". Humanrights.gov.au. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
52. ^ Drummond, Andrew (18 November 2015). "Tas parliament supports marriage equality". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
53. ^ Power, Shannon (19 November 2015). "TASMANIAN SUPPORT FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY PUTS PRESSURE ON FEDERAL MPS". Star Observer. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
54. ^ Hasham, Nicole (24 June 2015). "NSW Parliament unanimous vote on same-sex marriage pressures Prime Minister Tony Abbott to allow free vote". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
55. ^ Brook, Benedict (24 June 2015). "NSW PARLIAMENT CALLS ON CANBERRA TO GRANT COALITION CONSCIENCE VOTE ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY". Star Observer. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
56. ^ Richards, Blair (9 August 2016). "Same-sex marriage has been political hot potato for too long, says Tasmanian MLC Tony Mulder". The Mercury. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
57. ^ Baines, Richard (8 August 2016). "Gay marriage: Tasmanian Upper House gives in-principle support in 8-5 vote". ABC News. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
58. ^ "Adoption Act 1988 – Sect. 20". austlii.edu.au. 1 July 2013.
59. ^ "Tasmanian Upper House passes gay adoption bill". ABC News. 28 June 2013.
60. ^ a b "Status of Children Act 1974 – Sect. 10C". austlii.edu.au. 1 July 2013.
61. ^ "Adoption Act 1988 – Sect. 29". austlii.edu.au. 1 July 2013.
62. ^ a b "Department of Premier and Cabinet – TASMANIA : Publications". Dpac.tas.gov.au. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
63. ^ "Lara Giddings – Premier of Tasmania". Premier.tas.gov.au. 25 September 2012. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
64. ^ "Surrogacy Contracts Act 1993". Thelaw.tas.gov.au. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
65. ^ "SURROGACY CONTRACTS ACT 1993". Austlii.edu.au. 20 April 1993. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
66. ^ "Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner". Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
67. ^ "Anti-Discrimination Act 1998". Tasmanian Consolidated Acts. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
68. ^ Busby, Cec (27 September 2013). "New anti-discrimination laws for Tasmania". Gay News Network. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
69. ^ "New Protection". Australian Human Rights Commission. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
70. ^ Macpherson, James (19 July 2021). "Anti-Discrimination Commissioner: Lesbians can't ban transsexuals as the woke eat there [sic] own". The Spectator Australia. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
71. ^ Heuchan, Claire (22 July 2021). "Tasmania Rules Against Women-Only Spaces for LGB Alliance". After Ellen. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
72. ^ a b Delaney, Martine (8 April 2019). "How Tasmania is going from worst to best on transgender human rights". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
73. ^ "Sexual reassignment". Department of Justice. Tasmanian Government. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
74. ^ "Legal recognition of sex and gender diversity in Tasmania: Options for amendments to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1999" (PDF). Equal Opportunity Tasmania. Anti-Discrimination Commissioner (Tasmania). Retrieved 6 November 2016.
75. ^ a b c d "Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage and Gender Amendments) Bill 2018". Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
76. ^ "Transgender law changes in Tasmania only 'do half the job', lobby group says". ABC News. 17 October 2018.
77. ^ a b c d "Tasmania poised to become first state to have gender optional on birth certificates". ABC News. 21 November 2018.
78. ^ "Tasmania delays amended marriage bill, putting state out of step with Commonwealth". ABC News. 30 November 2018.
79. ^ Humphries, Alexandra; Coulter, Ellen; Whitson, Rhiana (4 April 2019). "Tasmania's transgender community celebrates legislation milestone". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
80. ^ a b Humphries, Alexandra; Coulter, Ellen (10 April 2019). "Tasmania becomes first state to make gender optional on birth certificate". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
81. ^ "TAS Passes Controversial Bill To Update Marriage Laws and Make Gender Optional On Birth Certificates". TimeBase. 16 April 2019.
82. ^ a b c "Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage and Gender Amendments) Act 2019". legislation.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
83. ^ Morgan, Riley (21 November 2018). "Morrison blasts 'ridiculous' Tasmanian transgender rights laws". SBS News. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
84. ^ a b Black, Eve; Bond, Kylie; Briffa, Tony; Carpenter, Morgan; Cody, Candice; David, Alex; Driver, Betsy; Hannaford, Carol; Harlow, Eileen; Hart, Bonnie; Hart, Phoebe; Leckey, Delia; Lum, Steph; Mitchell, Mani Bruce; Nyhuis, Elise; O?Callaghan, Bronwyn; Perrin, Sandra; Smith, Cody; Williams, Trace; Yang, Imogen; Yovanovic, Georgie (10 March 2017). "Darlington Statement: Joint consensus statement from the intersex community retreat in Darlington, March 2017" - via eprints.qut.edu.au.
85. ^ Copland, Simon (20 March 2017). "Intersex people have called for action. It's time to listen". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
86. ^ Jones, Jess (10 March 2017). "Intersex activists in Australia and New Zealand publish statement of priorities". Star Observer. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
87. ^ Power, Shannon (13 March 2017). "Intersex advocates pull no punches in historic statement". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
88. ^ Sainty, Lane (13 March 2017). "These Groups Want Unnecessary Surgery on Intersex Infants To Be Made A Crime". BuzzFeed Australia. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
89. ^ "Australian state recognizes same-sex marriages, introduce intersex anti-discrimination measures". Gay Star News. 1 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017.
90. ^ "South Australia introduces relationship recognition for same-sex couples and anti-discrimination protections for intersex people". Human Rights Law Centre. 1 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017.
91. ^ a b "Anti-Discrimination Act 1998, Section 19 "Inciting Hatred"". legislation.tas.gov.au.
92. ^ "Change of sex". Births, Deaths and Marriages. Government of Tasmania.
93. ^ "What is the policy regarding blood donation for men who have sex with men?". Australian Red Cross. Retrieved 11 May 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

LGBT in Australia

LGBT rights and laws|

| By state|

* Australian Capital Territory
* New South Wales
* Northern Territory
* Queensland
* South Australia
* Tasmania
* Victoria
* Western Australia

|

By topic|

* Intersex rights
* Transgender rights
* Adoption and parenting
* Marriage
* History
* Public opinion
* Survey
* in the ACT
* Marriage Equality Act 2013 (ACT)
* Marriage Amendment Act 2017
* Military service

History|

* Daughters of Bilitis
* Tasty nightclub raid
* Murder of George Duncan
* Suicide of Tyrone Unsworth
* LGBTI holders of political offices
* Re Alex
* Re Kevin – validity of marriage of transsexual
* Toonen v. Australia
* Gay Gang Murders

Culture and events|

* Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
* Melbourne Queer Film Festival
* Brisbane Pride Festival
* Cairns Tropical Pride
* ChillOut Festival (Daylesford)
* Feast Festival (Adelaide)
* Midsumma Festival (Melbourne)
* Star Observer
* SX News
* Queensland Pride
* QNews Magazine
* Joy 94.9 Melbourne radio station

Organisations|

* Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group Australia
* The Aurora Group
* Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives
* Australian Marriage Equality
* Coalition of Activist Lesbians Australia
* Community Action Against Homophobia
* Equal Love
* Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation
* National LGBTI Health Alliance
* Intersex Human Rights Australia
* Safe Schools Coalition Australia
* Transgender Victoria
* Victorian Pride Lobby
* Zoe Belle Gender Collective

* v
* t
* e

LGBT rights in Oceania

Sovereign states|

* Australia
* Federated States of Micronesia
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

Associated states
of New Zealand|

* Cook Islands
* Niue

Dependencies
and other territories|

* American Samoa
* Christmas Island
* Clipperton Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Easter Island
* French Polynesia
* Guam
* Hawaii
* New Caledonia
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Pitcairn Islands
* Tokelau
* Wallis and Futuna

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template