Senate rejected Hanson's bill to end transgender protection
Senator Pauline Hanson leads the One Nation party. Her bill would have ended federal legal protection for transgender people against unfair treatment. Transgender people have a gender that differs from the sex they were given at birth. It would have defined men and women by their sex at birth. The Senate refused it on 12 September 2024.
Official name: Sex Discrimination Amendment (Acknowledging Biological Reality) Bill 2024
- The bill would have taken gender identity out of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Gender identity is how a person sees their own gender.
- That would end the federal ban on treating people unfairly because of their gender identity.
- A man would mean a member of the male biological sex, and a woman a member of the female biological sex, at any age.
- The Senate voted it down at the very first step on 12 September 2024. That was the day it was brought in.
Who it affects
- Transgender and gender diverse people: They would lose federal protection from unfair treatment because of their gender identity.
- People and groups covered by the law: Federal law would no longer stop them treating people differently because of gender identity.
- Women and men in general: The law would define them by biological sex, whatever their age.
Law protects transgender people
The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 is a federal law. Discrimination means treating someone worse because of who they are. The law bans this in public life for some reasons. These include a person's sex and their gender identity.
Gender identity is how a person sees their own gender. It can be different from the sex they were given at birth. Transgender people are protected under the law on this ground.
Senator Pauline Hanson brought this private bill to the Senate on 12 September 2024. A private bill is one that does not come from the government. Its name was the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Acknowledging Biological Reality) Bill 2024.
The papers for this article have no notes explaining the bill. So this article goes by the bill's own words.
Gender identity taken out
The bill would have deleted the words "gender identity" from the law's title. It would have taken them out of its opening words and its list of aims.
It would have removed the meaning of gender identity. It would also have removed section 5B. That section says what unfair treatment because of gender identity means.
The law has many sections that ban unfair treatment because of gender identity. The bill would have removed gender identity from each of them.
Say a trans woman is refused a job because she is transgender. Today she can complain under this federal law. Under the bill, the federal law would no longer cover her complaint. State or territory laws might still apply.
Man and woman redefined
The bill added two meanings. A man would mean a member of the male biological sex, whatever their age. A woman would mean a member of the female biological sex, whatever their age.
The law does not have these meanings today.
Gender identity removed from exceptions
Other parts of the law mention gender identity in passing. Some of these are cases where the rules do not apply. The bill removed gender identity from these too.
Senate refused to let it in
Senator Hanson brought in the bill on 12 September 2024. The Senate voted it down at the very first step the same day.
That first step is normally a simple formal moment. It is when a bill is first put before a house of Parliament. Voting it down means the Senate refused to even take up the bill. It will not become law.
If it had passed, it would have started the day after the Governor-General signed it. The Governor-General stands in for the King.
Its journey through Parliament
| 12 Sep 2024 | Senate: Introduced |
| 12 Sep 2024 | Senate: First reading negatived |