A long-running legal battle over whether a lesbian group can exclude transgender women from public events is heading back to court, and the response from the LGBTQIA+ community has been swift.
The Federal Court has allowed an appeal by a Victorian-based group, the Lesbian Action Group (LAG), in a case that could reshape how Australian law treats gender identity and sex-based rights.
The group is seeking a five-year exemption under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 that would allow it to legally exclude transgender women from its public events.
The matter will now return to the Administrative Review Tribunal after Justice Mark Moshinsky found that the tribunal had made legal errors in its previous decision.
Importantly, the court has not ruled on whether the exemption should be granted, only that the matter must be reconsidered.
What the ruling actually means
The decision has been framed by LAG as a “win”, with spokesperson Nicole Mowbray describing the outcome as a relief for members advocating for lesbian-only spaces based on biological sex.
However, advocacy groups and legal observers have emphasised that the ruling is procedural, not substantive.
Equality Australia’s legal director, Heather Corkhill, said the court “has not endorsed discrimination against trans women,” but instead identified errors in the tribunal’s reasoning.
Justice Moshinsky found that exemptions under the Act can, in some circumstances, permit conduct that would otherwise be considered discriminatory.
He also found the tribunal had failed to properly consider relevant human rights principles, including the universality of human rights and the principle that all people are equal in dignity and rights.
The tribunal will now be required to reassess the application using the correct legal framework.
A case years in the making
The dispute began in 2023, when LAG applied to the Australian Human Rights Commission for an exemption to host events exclusively for lesbians assigned female at birth.
That application was rejected, as was a subsequent appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal, making this the group’s third attempt to secure the exemption.
The case will now be reconsidered by the tribunal, which must weigh both the potential harms of exclusion and the group’s argument that such spaces serve a legitimate purpose.
Community response: “All of us or none of us”
Online, reaction to the decision has been immediate and largely critical from within LGBTQIA+ communities.
Many commenters have expressed concern that the case reflects a growing divide within the community, particularly around transgender inclusion.
“Imagine having to overcome all the stigma and hatred only to put it on another group of people who are just trying to exist,” one highly liked comment read.
Others framed the issue through an intersectional lens, with one user writing: “All of us or none of us.”
Some described the ruling as “disappointing” or “discriminatory”, while others expressed solidarity with transgender women, emphasising that they should be “always welcome” in queer spaces.
Why this case matters
The case highlights a growing tension in Australian law between claims to sex-based spaces and protections for gender identity.
The Sex Discrimination Act was expanded in 2013 to explicitly include gender identity, making discrimination against transgender people unlawful in most contexts.
However, the Act also allows for exemptions in certain circumstances, and this case will test how those exemptions are applied in practice.
It also follows other recent legal decisions, including Tickle v Giggle, where the Federal Court found that excluding a transgender woman from a women-only platform amounted to unlawful discrimination.
What happens next
The Administrative Review Tribunal will now reconsider LAG’s application in light of the Federal Court’s findings.
A final decision could have significant implications, not only for the parties involved, but for how LGBTQIA+ spaces are defined, and who they include in Australia.
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the events are not for The Public
the events are for lesbians to have private lives