Senate blocked bill to remove gender identity protections
Senators Alex Antic and Matthew Canavan wanted to take gender identity out of the Sex Discrimination Act. They also wanted to change "a different sex" to "the opposite sex". The Senate refused the bill on 31 July 2025.
Official name: Sex Discrimination Amendment (Restoring Biological Definitions) Bill 2025
- The bill would have taken gender identity out of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
- That would end the federal ban on treating people unfairly because of their gender identity.
- A man would mean a member of the male sex, and a woman a member of the female sex, at any age.
- The words "a different sex" would become "the opposite sex" across the Act.
- The Senate voted it down at the very first step on 31 July 2025, 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 Act: Federal law would no longer stop them treating people differently because of gender identity.
- Women and men in general: The Act would define them by sex, whatever their age, and treat sex as two opposites.
Law protects gender identity now
The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 is a federal law. It makes it against the law to treat people unfairly in public life for some reasons. Those reasons include their 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 Act for this reason.
Senator Alex Antic and Senator Matthew Canavan brought this bill to the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, on 31 July 2025. It was a private bill. That means it did not come from the government. Its name was the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Restoring Biological Definitions) Bill 2025.
The sources hold no notes explaining this 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 Act's title. It would also have deleted them from its opening statement 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 Act has many sections that ban unfair treatment because of gender identity. The bill would have taken gender identity out of each of them.
Say a trans man is turned down for a rental because he is transgender. Today he can complain under this federal law. Under the bill, the federal Act would no longer cover that 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 sex, whatever their age. A woman would mean a member of the female sex, whatever their age.
The Act does not have these meanings today.
Different sex becomes opposite sex
In several places the Act talks about a person of "a different sex". These words appear in the meaning of sexual orientation. They appear in the meaning of sex discrimination. They also appear in some exceptions.
The bill changed each of these to "the opposite sex". That includes the exceptions that let some jobs, clubs and services be offered to one sex only.
These words would treat sex as having two opposite options.
Gender identity removed from exceptions
Other parts of the Act mention gender identity in passing, including some exceptions. The bill took it out of these too.
Senate refused to let it in
The bill was brought in on 31 July 2025. The Senate voted against it at the very first step the same day.
That first step is normally just a formality. It is when a bill is first brought into 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.
A similar bill from Senator Pauline Hanson was also refused at the first step in September 2024.
How they voted
| Vote | Result |
|---|---|
| Vote to bring it in Senate, 31 July 2025 Labor 23 no, Liberal 18 aye, Greens 10 no, One Nation 3 aye, Independent 3 no, Nationals 2 aye, LNP 1 aye, United Australia 1 aye | Noes won 36 to 25 |
Its journey through Parliament
| 31 Jul 2025 | Senate: Introduced |
| 31 Jul 2025 | Senate: First reading negatived |