LGBTIQA+ people would get their own rights commissioner
Senator Nick McKim's private bill, which did not come from the government, would add a new official to the Australian Human Rights Commission. This chief would stand up for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and asexual people. Intersex people are born with bodies that do not fit the usual idea of male or female. The bill would also swap the legal term "intersex status" for a wider one.
Official name: Anti-Discrimination Legislation Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics Discrimination Commissioner) Bill 2026
- A new Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics Discrimination Commissioner would join the Australian Human Rights Commission. Discrimination means unfair treatment. A commissioner is an official in charge of one job.
- This chief would speak up for the rights of LGBTIQA+ people, like other officials do for women or people with disability.
- The term "intersex status" would become "innate variations of sex characteristics" in federal laws on unfair treatment and work.
- The minister for the law, the Attorney-General, would have to talk to community leaders before picking someone for the job.
- The bill is still in the Senate and has not been voted on.
Who it affects
- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and asexual people: They would have their own national rights chief to protect and promote their rights.
- People born with differences in their sex features: Laws against unfair treatment would protect them under a wider term, even if they do not call themselves intersex.
- Bosses and unions: Work laws would use the new term. The new chief could help send unfair work deals to the Fair Work Commission, the body that sets pay and sorts out work fights.
- People with cases about unfair treatment already going: Their cases would carry on under the old rules.
No commissioner for LGBTIQA+ people
The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national body that looks into complaints about unfair treatment. It also speaks up for human rights. We will call it the rights body.
It has officials for some groups. One deals with unfair treatment because of your sex. Another deals with disability.
There is none for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer or questioning, and asexual people. The short form for this group is LGBTIQA+. We will call them rainbow people.
Senator Nick McKim brought this private bill into the Senate, Parliament's second house, on 30 June 2026. A private bill is one the government did not bring in.
He says rainbow people should be treated the same way as other groups that federal law protects from unfair treatment.
The new commissioner
The bill creates the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics Discrimination Commissioner. We will call this person the new rights chief. The job would sit under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. It would become a set member of the rights body.
The chief's job would be to protect and promote the human rights of rainbow people in Australia.
The rights body could also report to the Attorney-General on how other countries treat rainbow people. It could do this when asked, or on its own.
Before anyone is picked, the Attorney-General must be sure people were properly asked for their views. The senator's notes say this means talking with community leaders and the main groups that speak for rainbow people.
The bill sets out the usual terms for the job. These cover pay, leave, limits on other paid work, quitting and being removed. They also cover who fills in when the job is empty.
Helping courts and workplaces
The new rights chief could join some court cases as a "friend of the court". That means giving the judge expert help without taking a side. This would apply in the Federal Court and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, which are national courts.
An award sets the minimum pay and conditions for a type of job. Some workplaces also have their own pay deals, called enterprise agreements.
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, the rights body can send awards and these deals to the Fair Work Commission if they may be unfair to some groups. The new chief would be added to these rules.
Say a workplace deal had a rule that treated trans staff unfairly. The new chief could help send it to the Fair Work Commission to be checked.
New legal term for intersex
Federal laws on unfair treatment and work now protect people based on their "intersex status". The bill would swap this for "innate variations of sex characteristics" everywhere it appears. Innate means you were born with it.
Sex characteristics are body features linked to sex. They include hormones, which are body chemicals. They include chromosomes, which carry genes. They also include body parts. The senator's notes say many people born with these differences do not call themselves intersex. So the old term left them out.
The new meaning is based on Queensland's law. It is like one used by the United Nations Human Rights Council, a world body on rights, in 2024. Tasmania, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory use similar words.
The change would cover the rules on unfair treatment at work and in other parts of life. It would cover sexual harassment rules too. It would also cover the exceptions for volunteer groups and sport.
Waiting in the Senate
The law would start the day after it was signed. The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signs laws. The changes would only count from then on. Cases already started would not change.
Senator McKim brought in the bill on 30 June 2026. He spoke on its main idea the same day.
It has not been debated since. It would need to pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives to become law. Many private bills never come to a vote.
How they voted
| Vote | Result |
|---|---|
| Vote to bring it in Senate, 30 June 2026 Labor 20 aye, Greens 10 aye, Liberal 4 aye, 1 no, One Nation 4 no, Independent 1 aye, LNP 1 no, Nationals 1 no, United Australia 1 no | Ayes won 35 to 8 |
| Vote to bring it in Senate, 30 June 2026 Labor 20 aye, Greens 10 aye, Liberal 4 aye, 1 no, One Nation 4 no, Independent 1 aye, United Australia 1 no | Ayes won 35 to 6 |
Its journey through Parliament
| 30 Jun 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 30 Jun 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |