Greens introduce Bill for a National LGBTQIA+ Discrimination Commissioner

The Australian Greens will today introduce a Bill proposing the appointment of Australia’s first LGBTQIA+ Discrimination Commissioner.

As disturbing hate crime attacks on LGBTQIA+ people are on the rise across Australia, the Greens are calling for the community to be better protected under a dedicated Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics Discrimination Commissioner, as part of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

Advocates have called for an LGBTQIA+ Commissioner for over a decade, with past Labor governments making repeat promises to appoint one without following through.

“LGBTIQA+ Australians deserve the same level of protection and representation under federal law as other communities,” Greens LGBTIQA+ spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said in a press release.

“This is about equality before the law in practice, not just on paper. Discrimination against LGBTIQA+ people should be treated with the same seriousness as discrimination against other protected groups. Anything less is a double standard.”

The Greens’ Bill is reportedly set to be introduced this afternoon, and will also call for updated terminology regarding innate variations of sex characteristics in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

National lobby and advocacy group Just.Equal welcomed the introduction of the Bill. “With increasing attacks on the rights and dignity of LGBTIQA+ Australians it is more important than ever for there to be a Commissioner who has the time, resources and expertise to defend our human rights,” they said in a briefing paper. “An LGBTIQA+ Commissioner fills an existing gap and can counter rising attacks against LGBTIQA+ people.”

Related content:

• ‘Law must protect the weak against the strong’ Victoria’s LGBTQIA+ Commissioner says
• We have an international LGBTIQA+ Commissioner, why no Australian one?
• Just.Equal calls on government to deliver on LGBTIQ Human Rights Commissioner pledge

What is in the Greens Bill?

The Greens are introducing the Anti-Discrimination Legislation Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics Discrimination Commissioner) Bill 2026. This Bill would aim to create the role of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics Discrimination Commissioner under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

This Commissioner would form part of the AHRC, which currently includes a President and seven Commissioners who cover: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice, Age Discrimination, Disability Discrimination, Children, Race Discrimination, Sex Discrimination and Human Rights.

The new Commissioner’s role would be to protect and promote the legislated human rights of LGBTQIA+ people in Australia regarding sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics.

The Greens’ Bill also calls for discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people to be treated “in the same way at a Commonwealth level as discrimination against other vulnerable groups with protected attributes under Commonwealth law, such as women, people with disability, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, etc”.

“The Greens’ legislation would establish a dedicated Commissioner and require a merit-based appointment process with meaningful involvement from LGBTIQA+ civil society organisations,” McKim said in the press release.

“For more than a decade, community organisations, legal experts and advocates have called for this reform. The Greens are turning that consensus into action. “This reform is ready to go. It should not be buried in another inquiry. LGBTIQA+ Australians deserve the same institutional protection, visibility and respect that Parliament already affords to others.”

Additionally, the Bill calls to replace the term “intersex status” with “innate variations of sex characteristics” within the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. This offers more inclusive terminology that better covers the diverse range of people and sex characteristics that the term intended to refer to, seeing as many of them may not identify as intersex.

Why do we need an LGTBQIA+ Commissioner?

While the Gillard Labor Government added sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status as protected attributes to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 in 2013, these now remain the only protected attributes in the Commonwealth’s four main anti-discrimination laws without a dedicated Commissioner attached to them.

Until now, LGBTQIA+ rights issues have been “handballed” between the Human Rights Commissioner, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, and the AHRC President. Just.Equal point out that this has resulted in a failure to focus on LGTBQIA+ rights. “For example, between October 2021 and April 2023 the AHRC did not issue a single public statement on LGBTIQA+ issue,” they noted in a briefing paper.

Current Sex Discrimination Commissioner Professor Anna Cody is an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and has proven that since her appointment in 2023. However, her portfolio also covers sex, marital or relationship status, pregnancy, potential pregnancy, breastfeeding and family responsibilities — meaning LGBTQIA+ issues form only a portion of her office.

The appointment of an LGBTQIA+ Discrimination Commissioner would allow full-time focus on LGBTQIA+ human rights, and prove that those rights are as important as any other.

“The absence of an LGBTIQA+ Discrimination Commissioner sends the message that discrimination against LGBTIQA+ people matters less than for the other groups with a Commissioner,” Just.Equal says.

Additionally, a rise in anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment and violence across Australia proves the urgent need for a dedicated Commissioner with the time and resources to focus on protecting queer rights. In recent months and years, we’ve seen a rise in harassment at work, on the street, online, targeting of trans and gender diverse people, violent dating app entrapment, attempts to ban LGTBQIA+ books in libraries, and protests against youth-inclusive programs and activities like drag storytime.

In Victoria, such incidents have resulted in an Inquiry into Anti-LGTBQIA+ Hate which is currently underway. In Tasmania, stronger legislation against hate-motivated attacks on LGBTQIA+ people has been introduced.

 

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Who has called for an LGTBQIA+ Commissioner in the past?

Advocates have been calling for the appointment of a national LGTBQIA+ Commissioner for more than a decade.

Prior to losing the 2016 federal election, Labor committed to appointing a “full-time LGBTI Discrimination Commissioner … to be a new champion for the rights of LGBTI Australians, and help build a more inclusive Australia”. They made that promise again ahead of the 2019 election, which they also lost.

The Albanese Labor Government has not made distinct promises, but renewed calls from the community for an LGBTQIA+ Commissioner were made after Professor Cody was appointed the newest Sex Discrimination Commissioner in 2023.

Additionally, Labor committed in 2022 to the updating of “intersex status” to “innate variations of sex characteristics” in the Sex Discrimination Act, but haven’t made any headway since.