Submission on birth certificate reform in Queensland

IHRA has made a formal submission to the Department of Justice and Attorney General of the Queensland Government on proposed amendments to legislation on birth certificates. The submission is grounded in the Darlington Statement of March 2017, and the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10. The deadline for submissions was originally 4 April, but has now changed to 19 April.

In our submission we make 6 recommendations. Reflecting on a contradictory policy environment for intersex people in Queensland, these call for additional reforms.

Recommendation 1: Queensland should protect children’s right to bodily integrity, in line with the Darlington Statement and the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10.

Recommendation 2: The Queensland government should protect people from discrimination and violence on grounds of ‘sex characteristics’, in line with the attribute defined in the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10.

Recommendation 3: Queensland should end legal classification of individuals by sex or gender, in line with the Darlington Statement and the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10.

Recommendation 4: In the absence of an end to legal classification of individuals by sex or gender, Queensland should recognise “non-binary”, alternative (for example, self-affirmed) and multiple sex markers. Changes should be available a simple administrative procedure, for example, via a statutory declaration.

Recommendation 5: The Queensland government should not create a sex marker termed ‘intersex’, because this would constrain a right to self-determination by intersex women and intersex men.

Recommendation 6: In the absence of legislation and regulation that implements prior BDM recommendations, the Queensland government should ensure that a separate, simple and accessible pathway is available for people born with variations of sex characteristics to correct details on birth certificates.

More information

Download our submission
The Department of Justice and Attorney-General consultation