The Victorian Government’s Bill protecting intersex children from unnecessary and irreversible medical procedures without their consent has passed in the lower house.
Intersex people are born with innate variations of sex characteristics that don’t fit medical norms for female or male bodies.
As the intersex community has grown more visible, we have learned how common unnecessary and irreversible surgeries are to individuals, particularly those who are too young to consent.
It is believed that about 1.7 per cent of the population is born with an intersex trait. There are at least 40 known intersex variations.
In October 2021, the Australian Human Rights Commission urged all Australian governments to implement measures that prevent harmful medical interventions on intersex people without personal consent.
In August 2025, the Australian Medical Association passed a motion calling for a deferral of surgical interventions for intersex people until they can give consent.
The Health Safeguards for People Born with Variations in Sex Characteristics Bill 2025 passed the lower house without opposition on Thursday.
The Bill prohibits deferrable medical interventions until a child can decide for themselves that they want that, introducing independent oversight of proposed treatment plans.
The passing of the bill reflects decades of tireless advocacy by intersex people and community organisations, building on similar protections introduced in the ACT in 2023.
‘A watershed moment for intersex human rights’
Long-standing intersex advocate and Co-Chair of InterAction for Health and Human Rights and patron of Equality Australia, Tony Briffa, told QNews the Parliamentary debate “was a watershed moment for intersex human rights in Australia.”
“Labor showed great leadership in the development of the Health Safeguards for People Born with Variations in Sex Characteristics Bill and bringing it to the Parliament, and the Liberals and Greens also spoke in favour of intersex human rights.”
“The ultimate result was the unanimous support for the Bill.
“Having advocated for legislative protections for intersex infants and children for 25 years on successive Ministerial Advisory Committees and LGBTIQA Taskforces, I am beyond thrilled that we’re on the cusp of having this Bill passed.
“I’m also delighted the Royal Children’s Hospital is supporting the Bill. I can’t wait to help support them with the Legislation’s implementation.
“I am grateful to so many people and organisations that have worked together to get us to this stage, including Equality Australia, Interaction for Health and Human Rights, Intersex Peer Support Australia and numerous other LGBTIQA+ organisations and individuals.
“We have an amazing community.” said Briffa, who is the world’s first openly intersex public office bearer.
The Victorian Minister for Equality, Vicki Ward, thanked Briffa and the extraordinary leaders, advocates and members of the intersex community who contributed to the reform.
“Variations in sex characteristics are a natural and normal part of our human diversity,” Minister Ward said.
“Representing around 1.7 per cent of the population, which means it is about as common as being born with red hair.”
Minister Ward gave a heartfelt apology to all intersex people who have experienced harm under past medical practices.
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The intersex community are finally being heard
“Fundamentally, this legislation is about dignity, about protecting the right to bodily autonomy,” Minister Ward said.
“About protecting fertility and the human right to consent to non-urgent, avoidable medical procedures that can cause harm, harms that can originate through a lack of knowledge, awareness and understanding of the normalcy of intersex variations.”
“Establishing a safeguarding and protective system helps address these issues and reduce the barriers that intersex people often face when accessing health services.
“It is about improved health and wellbeing outcomes, better experiences of care, and empowering families, caregivers and medical practitioners to access the support they need and the information they need to ensure that all Victorians with variations in sex characteristics can thrive in an identity and a body that is theirs and theirs alone.”
The Missing Voice report shared insight into current surgical and other medical interventions on intersex children in Australia and the rationales driving these decisions.
It highlighted that 46.99% of surgeries were for cosmetic justifications and 16.87% of surgeries were for gender reinforcement.
And that 25.30% of surgeries were for unbalanced assessment of medical risks, and 62.65% of surgeries were due to parental distress or confusion.
“Finally, it feels as though people with lived experience of innate variations of sex characteristics are being heard,” said InterAction for Health and Human Rights Co-Chair Dr Alice de Jonge, who was watching from the gallery.
“No longer are doctors treated as gods with carte Blanche to do with our bodies as they see fit.”
‘We all deserve the right to make our own decisions about our own bodies’
Part-time Executive Director of InterAction for Health and Human Rights, Dr Morgan Carpenter, thanked the Members of the Legislative Assembly “for their support for the Bill, and for a heartfelt, respectful and kind debate, and the unanimous vote of support.”
“The Bill proposes to regulate a small set of medical interventions on children who are too young to express their own views of treatment,” he said.
“We all deserve the right to make our own decisions about our own bodies.”
“The Bill is the product of more than 5 years of long, careful and detailed consultation with all stakeholders.
“I hope that the Legislative Council debate will be as thoughtful, and the bill will pass without amendment.”
Heather Corkhill, Legal Director at Equality Australia, said, “the sweeping support from across the parliament underscores how vital these reforms are.”
“Intersex people deserve the right to decide what happens to their own bodies, rather than being subjected to interventions that are not medically necessary and can cause permanent physical and psychological harm.”
Intersex children often undergo medical procedures before reaching the age of consent that can have long-term consequences, including loss of sexual function and sensation , loss of fertility and urinary tract issues, including incontinence.
As well as aneed for ongoing medical treatment/repeat surgeries, incorrect gender assignment , loss of autonomy and loss of choice and egative self-image.
The bill will return to the upper house for debate later this month.
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