Hundreds of Australians rush to change gender on birth certificates after new laws

Australians in one state can now retroactively change the gender on their birth certificate, even before sex reassignment surgery. Hundreds of people have already done so.

Nearly 250 Queensland residents, including 11 children, have applied to legally change their child’s gender. birth certificate after the relevant legislation, the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2023, came into effect on June 24.

These changes the requirement for people has been removed undergo sex reassignment surgery before officially changing their gender.

The law also makes it possible to change the gender of a child under the age of 16 through a through a request from the parents or through the juvenile court.

A birth certificate is a legal document that gives legal and official recognition to a person’s identified gender in Queensland.

One month after the updated law came into effect 247 applications for gender reassignment have been submitted, of which 142 have been completed to date.

Two thirds of the completed applications were assessed changes from male to female, another quarter female to male, and less than 10 percent to another gender.

Under these new laws, two parents of the same sex or just the term “parent” can also be listed on a child’s birth certificate. So far, fewer than 10 applications have been filed for this.

Children under 16 can now change their gender on their birth certificate in Queensland

Emily Wells, 61, of Tennant Creek, was one of the first to file a request to change her birth certificate.

‘“It’s really hard to explain the euphoria. For me it’s a correction of something that was done wrong 60 years ago,” Wells said. told the Courier Mail.

Ms Wells, who has been trying to officially change her gender since 2004, received her amended birth certificate on July 5.

She said she spent seven years in discussions with the state government before she could submit her application.

“When I got the certificate, it finally meant I had the final legal document that confirmed who I am,” she said.

“I was part of the campaign, and you had to be out and about… but the reason why I did it and why I pushed for it is for future generations, because it will help so many people, particularly younger trans people.”

Emily Wells, 61, who lives in Tennant Creek, was one of the first to apply to change her birth certificate after Queensland changed its laws on June 24

Ms Wells predicted that thousands of applications would eventually come.

Equality Australia Chief Executive Anna Brown said Queensland was one of the last states to abolish the ‘cruel and outdated’ legal barriers to identification

“The fact that hundreds of people have already applied to have their birth certificates changed to better reflect who they really are shows how important this is to some people and how long they have waited,” Brown told the publication.