Tag: Australia
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Queensland Anti-Discrimination Review: Why Legal Clarity and Women’s Rights Matter
Women Speak Australia has made a submission to the Queensland Government’s Strategic Review of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Framework, focusing on Part C: the review of the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024. Our submission examines proposed changes to Queensland’s anti-discrimination legislation, including the meaning of equality, new prohibitions on sex-based…
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Digital Duty of Care: Protecting Children Without Silencing Women’s Rights Advocacy
Women Speak Australia supports protecting children from online harm. But online safety laws must also protect the ability of women to speak openly about sex, gender and their rights. On 15 October 2026, Communications Minister Anika Wells addressed the National Press Club to explain the Albanese Government’s proposed Digital Duty of Care legislation. Her message…
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Reflections from the CASC Conference: Day Two in Adelaide
The second day of the Coalition for Advancing Scientific Care (CASC) Gender Healthcare Summit opened early in Adelaide under the theme Courageous Conversations, Better Care. The programme examined clinical assessment, adolescent development, medical outcomes, health data and the legal responsibilities involved in treating children and young people experiencing gender-related distress. The CASC convenor set the…
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Musings from the CASC Conference: Day One in Adelaide
My trip to Adelaide for the Coalition Advancing Scientific Care (CASC) 2026 conference began with a little time to myself before the dinner. It was raining, but it was that gentle spring rain that makes a walk enjoyable rather than miserable. With the evening not starting until after 6 pm, I decided to walk from…
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Keeping Mothers at the Centre: Woman-Centred Postpartum Care, Evidence and Sex-Specific Health Data
Women Speak Australia has made a submission to the Senate Select Committee on Women’s Health, examining postpartum care, maternal health and mortality, contraception, sex-specific health data, and the monitoring of medical devices used in women’s healthcare. Our submission begins with a straightforward principle: the woman who was pregnant remains the patient after birth. The end…
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Children’s Development and the Questions Surrounding Sex and Gender
Children are not small adults. They are developing human beings whose cognitive, emotional, social and physical capacities change substantially as they grow. How children understand themselves and the world around them is therefore influenced by their stage of development, their relationships, their environment and the information available to them. These developmental realities matter when adults…
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Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) consultation survey on Medicare funding for gender-affirming surgery
Women Speak Australia has responded to the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) consultation survey on Application 1754 — Surgical Procedures for Gender Affirmation in Adults with Gender Incongruence. The application, made by the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, seeks the creation of new Medicare Benefits Schedule items for gender-affirming surgeries. MSAC describes these surgeries as…
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NSW Anti-Discrimination Act Review: Why the Legal Framework Matters for Women
Women Speak Australia has made a submission to the NSW Law Reform Commission’s review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), focusing on the Act’s objects, structure, exceptions, special measures and exemption processes. The NSW Law Reform Commission is reviewing the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, the legislation that establishes protections against discrimination across a range of areas…
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Child Safeguarding and the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act: What the HGY Decision Raises
A recent decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal raises an important question for child safeguarding and the future operation of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW): how should anti-discrimination protections interact with reasonable identity and background checks designed to protect children? The question arises from HGY v Secretary, Ministry of Health in respect of…
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Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW): Analysis of Sex, Transgender Status and Homosexuality
The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) is often discussed as though it contains a single modern framework of protected characteristics. It does not. The Act has been amended repeatedly since 1977, and its protections are organised into separate Parts dealing with different grounds. Sex is protected under Part 3. Transgender status is protected separately under Part…