A timeline of women’s rights: CEDAW, the 2013 amendments, and the loss of sex‑based protections

Uncategorized 20 Minutes

The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (the SDA) was enacted to give effect to Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and to protect women as a sex class from discrimination in public and political life.

This timeline tracks changes to the SDA from its foundations in CEDAW through the expanding role of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the contested 2013 amendments that removed the biological definitions of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ and inserted gender identity into the Act.

Taken together, these developments show how a statute that originally gave “pre‑eminence to the rights of women” has come to be interpreted in ways that subordinate women’s sex‑based rights to claims based on gender identity. This is the reason women’s organisations are now calling for legislative reform to restore and clarify those protections and rights. A full list of source documents is at the end of the timeline.

18 DECEMBER 1979 — CEDAW IS ADOPTED BY THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

CEDAW, often described as an international bill of rights for women, is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1979 and enters into force as an international treaty on 3 September 1981. CEDAW obliges state parties to eliminate discrimination against women on the basis of sex in political, public, economic, social, and family life, and to ensure women’s right to participate equally in public and political affairs.

17 JULY 1980 — AUSTRALIA SIGNS CEDAW

The Fraser government signs CEDAW on 17 July 1980 during the UN World Conference for the Decade of Women. 

2 JUNE 1983 — SENATOR SUSAN RYAN INTRODUCES THE SEX DISCRIMINATION BILL

The Sex Discrimination Bill 1983 (Cth) is introduced into the Senate on 2 June 1983 by Senator Susan Ryan, the first woman to hold a Cabinet position in a federal Labor government and who had previously tested the parliamentary waters in 1981 with a private member’s Bill. The Bill extends broadly across employment, education, and many services.

28 JULY 1983 — AUSTRALIA RATIFIES CEDAW

Australia ratifies CEDAW on 28 July 1983. At the time of ratification, there is no federal protection from sex discrimination or sexual harassment in Australia.

JUNE 1984 — AUSTRALIA’S FIRST SEX DISCRIMINATION COMMISSIONER IS APPOINTED 

Pamela O’Neil is appointed as Australia’s first Sex Discrimination Commissioner by the Hawke government in 1984, shortly before the SDA commences.

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1 AUGUST 1984 — THE SEX DISCRIMINATION ACT 1984 COMMENCES

The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) commences on 1 August 1984. The Act prohibits direct and indirect discrimination based on sex, marital status, and pregnancy in employment, education, property, and services; makes sexual harassment unlawful for the first time in Australia at the federal level; creates the Office of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner; and defines ‘woman’ as “a member of the female sex, irrespective of age” and ‘man’ as “a member of the male sex, irrespective of age”. The Act originally gives “pre-eminence to the rights of women”, as the Full Federal Court would later observe in 2026.

13 JANUARY 1993 — EMPLOYER LIABILITY FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS EXTENDED

Amendments made under the Sex Discrimination and other Legislation Amendment Act 1992 (Cth), which commences on 13 January 1993, strengthen the Act’s sexual harassment provisions, extending the circumstances in which employers may be held vicariously liable for acts of sexual harassment carried out by employees in connection with their employment.

16 DECEMBER 1995 — THE SEX DISCRIMINATION AMENDMENT ACT 1995 COMMENCES

The Sex Discrimination Amendment Act 1995 (Cth) commences on 16 December 1995, inserting section 7D to formally provide for ‘special measures’ to achieve substantive equality between women and men, the provision that would later become central to disputes about female-only spaces and services.

2008–2009 — AUSTRALIA BECOMES PARTY TO THE OPTIONAL CEDAW PROTOCOL

Following a Rudd Government decision in late 2008 to reverse the previous Government’s refusal to sign, Australia accedes to the Optional Protocol to CEDAW and becomes a party to it, giving women a direct complaints route to the CEDAW Committee after domestic avenues are exhausted and enabling Committee inquiries into serious or systematic violations. Under international law, Australia’s accession also commits the Commonwealth to making CEDAW widely known domestically and giving publicity to its CEDAW obligations.

2009 — AHRC PUBLISHES ITS ‘SEX FILES’ REPORT

The Australian Human Rights Commission publishes its ‘Sex Files’ report in 2009, recommending changes to how sex is legally recognised in official documents and government records. The report helps to drive the Commission’s subsequent advocacy for federal protections against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity, and feeds into the development of the Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender.

2011 — SEX AND AGE DISCRIMINATION REFORMS ARE IMPLEMENTED

The Sex and Age Discrimination Legislation Amendment Act 2011 (Cth) strengthens protections by inserting ‘family responsibilities’ and ‘breastfeeding’ as express protected attributes in the Sex Discrimination Act and extending coverage of across all areas of work for both women and men. These changes reflect growing recognition that sex discrimination is closely intertwined with the caring responsibilities disproportionately borne by women, including the impact of unpaid care on women’s participation and advancement in paid work.

NOVEMBER 2012 — EXPOSURE DRAFT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL IS RELEASED

In November 2012, the federal government releases an exposure draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012, part of a ‘consolidation project’ intended to combine four existing federal equality Acts — the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Age Discrimination Act 2004 — into a single statute. The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee conducts an inquiry into the exposure draft, with submissions closing in December 2012.

19 MARCH 2013 — GOVERNMENT SHELVES THE CONSOLIDATION BILL

On 19 March 2013, the Attorney-General announces that the government will not proceed with the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill before the September 2013 federal election, shelving the broader consolidation project. Two days later, on 21 March 2013, the government introduces the narrower Sex Discrimination Amendment Bill 2013 in its place, carrying over proposals — including gender identity and sexual orientation protections — first raised in the 2012 exposure draft.

20 MARCH 2013 — GILLARD GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES AMENDMENTS

On 20 March 2013, the Gillard Government announces it will introduce legislation to protect Australians against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus explains that there is little protection in federal law from discrimination on these grounds, and that the Bill would establish sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status as protected attributes under the Sex Discrimination Act.

21 MARCH 2013 — SEX DISCRIMINATION AMENDMENT (SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY AND INTERSEX STATUS) BILL 2013 IS INTRODUCED

The Gillard Government’s Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Bill 2013 is introduced and read a first time in the House of Representatives on 21 March 2013, with the second reading moved the same day. The Bill adds sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status as protected attributes under the Sex Discrimination Act, repeals the definitions of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ in section 4, and leaves ‘sex’ itself undefined, with ‘woman’ and ‘man’ to take their ordinary meaning, as confirmed in the Explanatory Memorandum.

APRIL 2013 — AHRC MAKES A SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE, BACKING THE SDA AMENDMENTS

The Australian Human Rights Commission makes a written submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee supporting passage of the Sex Discrimination Amendment Bill 2013, while acknowledging “complexities and ambiguities that result from seeking to use the SDA as the vehicle for providing protection” on the new grounds. The Commission notes that the SDA had been introduced to implement CEDAW and that the proposed amendments do not alter the Act’s existing objects clause pertaining to gender equality or discrimination on the ground of sex, even as the amendments remove the biological definitions of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ that gave that objects clause practical effect, characterising the new attributes as being grafted onto, rather than reshaping, the Act’s original CEDAW-based purpose.

14 JUNE 2013 — SENATE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THE BILL PASS

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee tables its report recommending that the Senate pass the Sex Discrimination Amendment Bill 2013. The Committee receives 128 submissions; most, including from LGBTIQ and legal advocacy bodies, support the Bill’s passage. Among these, the Equality Rights Alliance (submission no. 21) and Women’s Legal Services NSW (submission no. 78) support the Bill while cautioning against any future conflation of sex discrimination with the new grounds. Coalition senators produce a minority report.

1 JULY 2013 — SEX AND GENDER RECOGNITION GUIDELINES COMMENCE

The Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender commence on 1 July 2013, applying to all Commonwealth departments and agencies that maintain personal records or collect sex and/or gender information. The Guidelines provide a biological definition of sex for federal agencies to record separately from gender in their records. These Guidelines are administrative in nature: they do not bind courts or amend the Sex Discrimination Act, but operate as data-collection and record-keeping standards that sit alongside the 2013 SDA amendments on sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status.

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1 AUGUST 2013 — THE 2013 SDA AMENDMENTS COMMENCE

The Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013 (Cth) commences on 1 August 2013. Gender identity is defined in the SDA as the “gender‑related identity, appearance or mannerisms or other gender‑related characteristics of a person (whether by way of medical intervention or not), with or without regard to the person’s designated sex at birth”.

SEPTEMBER 2021 — THE RESPECT@WORK ACT 2021 COMMENCES

Responding to recommendations from the AHRC’s 2020 Respect@Work national inquiry into workplace sexual harassment, the Sex Discrimination and Fair Work (Respect at Work) Amendment Act 2021 (Cth) commences on 11 September 2021. The Act amends the SDA to make clear that sex-based harassment is unlawful and broadens the Act’s coverage to paid and unpaid workers previously excluded, including interns, volunteers, self-employed workers, and members of parliament and their staff. The amendments also extend related protections through the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth).

DECEMBER 2021 — ROXANNE TICKLE COMPLAINS TO THE AHRC

On 5 December 2021, Roxanne Tickle makes a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission under section 46P of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act, alleging gender identity discrimination after being excluded from the Giggle for Girls app, a platform marketed as a women‑only digital safe space. The details and timing of the complaint are recorded in the Federal Court’s reasons in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd.

5 APRIL 2022 — AHRC TERMINATES THE COMPLAINT

On 5 April 2022, a delegate of the AHRC President terminates Roxanne Tickle’s complaint under section 46PH(1)(c) of the AHRC Act on the basis that there is no reasonable prospect of the matter being settled by conciliation. This termination enables Tickle to commence discrimination proceedings directly in the Federal Court. The termination decision and its timing are recorded in the Federal Court’s reasons in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd.

28 NOVEMBER 2022 — ANTI-DISCRIMINATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (RESPECT AT WORK) ACT 2022 IS PASSED

The second tranche of Respect@Work reforms pass the Federal Parliament on 28 November 2022, with the Anti‑Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 (Cth) coming into effect on 12 December 2022. The key reform is the introduction of a positive duty on employers and persons conducting a business or undertaking to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, sex discrimination, sexual harassment, sex‑based harassment, hostile workplace environments on the ground of sex, and related acts of victimisation in the workplace context.

DECEMBER 2022 — TICKLE COMMENCES FEDERAL COURT PROCEEDINGS

Following termination of the AHRC complaint, Tickle commences discrimination proceedings in the Federal Court in December 2022, filing an originating application on 22 December 2022. The commencement of proceedings and the originating application date are recorded in the Federal Court’s reasons in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd.

31 MAY 2023 — FOI SEARCH SHOWS NO OFFICE FOR WOMEN CONSULTATION ON 2013 SDA AMENDMENTS

In response to a Freedom of Information request seeking records of advice and consultation by the Office for Women on the Sex Discrimination Amendment Bill 2013, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet advises that, after searching current and legacy systems, no documents can be found and that the requested records ‘do not exist’. In a Notice of Decision 31 May 2023, the Assistant Secretary of the Office for Women states that the Office had taken “all reasonable steps” to locate any records of advice or consultations with charities, NGOs and women’s groups about the 2013 changes, but none were identified.

AUGUST 2023 — LESBIAN ACTION GROUP APPLIES TO THE AHRC FOR AN EXEMPTION

In August 2023, the Lesbian Action Group applies to the Australian Human Rights Commission for a five‑year temporary exemption under section 44 of the Sex Discrimination Act to hold publicly advertised “lesbians born female only” events, starting with an International Lesbian Day gathering at the Victorian Pride Centre. The group’s application states that lesbian gatherings had been unable to be publicly advertised since a 2003 legal challenge from a transgender lobby group forced the exemption’s revocation, and that lesbians speaking out on the issue face being “sacked from their jobs, ridiculed and threatened with all kinds of abuse”. The group later provides further details in an additional information paper, explaining why the exemption is reasonable and necessary, why a five‑year period is sought, and confirming LAG’s status as a not‑for‑profit ‘lesbians born female’ community‑based volunteer group.

10 AUGUST 2023 — OFFICE OF THE SEX DISCRIMINATION COMMISSIONER SUBMITS AS AMICUS CURIAE IN TICKLE V GIGGLE

On 10 August 2023, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner files amicus curiae submissions in Tickle v Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd — during the gap between Kate Jenkins’ term (ending April 2023) and Anna Cody’s (announced 6 July, commenced 4 September) — with leave to address statutory construction and constitutional validity, including whether Giggle’s women-only policy amounted to gender identity discrimination under section 5B of the SDA. The Commissioner submits that ‘sex’ and ‘women’ under the SDA and CEDAW include trans-identified males, stating that “the ordinary meaning of ‘women’ in CEDAW includes trans women.” The Court ultimately avoids the CEDAW question, basing its finding of validity instead on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the corporations power instead.

12 OCTOBER 2023 — AHRC REFUSES THE LESBIAN ACTION GROUP’S EXEMPTION

After two rounds of public submissions — including further submissions invited in response to a preliminary view to refuse the exemption issued by the Commission on 25 September 2023 — the Australian Human Rights Commission refuses the Lesbian Action Group’s application for a five-year temporary exemption under section 44 of the SDA on 12 October 2023, stating that it is not “appropriate and reasonable to make distinctions between women based on their biological sex at birth or transgender experience” and to exclude transgender lesbians from a community event of this kind.

12 DECEMBER 2023 — AHRC’S NEW POSITIVE DUTY ENFORCEMENT POWERS COMMENCE

The Respect@Work reforms (the 2021 and 2022 Acts implementing parts of the Respect@Work report) give the Australian Human Rights Commission compliance and enforcement powers to monitor, assess and enforce compliance with the positive duty in section 47C of the SDA, with those powers commencing on 12 December 2023.

23 AUGUST 2024 — PRIMARY JUDGMENT IS GIVEN IN TICKLE V GIGGLE 

On 23 August 2024, Justice Bromwich delivers his judgment in Tickle v Giggle, holding that Giggle for Girls and Sall Grover had engaged in unlawful indirect discrimination on the ground of gender identity, contrary to sections 5B(2) and 22 of the SDA, while rejecting Tickle’s claim of direct discrimination. His Honour rejects the respondents’ argument that the Giggle app is a special measure shielding them from liability, holding that a special measure aimed at achieving equality between men and women under section 7D(1)(a) could answer a claim of sex discrimination under section 5, but not a claim of gender identity discrimination under section 5B. His Honour also observes that “in its contemporary ordinary meaning, sex is changeable.” Giggle and Grover are ordered to pay damages and Tickle’s legal costs.

5 SEPTEMBER 2024 — DECLARATION OF CONTRAVENTION IS MADE

Following his August 2024 judgment, Justice Bromwich makes a formal declaration of contravention on 5 September 2024 that Giggle for Girls and Sall Grover had engaged in unlawful indirect discrimination on the ground of gender identity by imposing a condition on the use of the Giggle App requiring users to have the appearance of ‘cisgender’ women in order to access the service.

20 JANUARY 2025 — ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW TRIBUNAL AFFIRMS THE AHRC’S DECISION ON THE LESBIAN ACTION GROUP

The Administrative Review Tribunal affirms the AHRC’s 12 October 2023 refusal of the Lesbian Action Group’s application for a temporary exemption under section 44 of the SDA, on the basis that granting the exemption could lead to the further exclusion of, and discrimination against, ‘transgender lesbians’ — a group already experiencing high levels of discrimination, harassment and social exclusion.

17 FEBRUARY 2025 — LESBIAN ACTION GROUP APPEALS TO FEDERAL COURT

The Lesbian Action Group files its notice of appeal to the Federal Court on questions of law, challenging the Administrative Review Tribunal’s 20 January 2025 decision affirming the AHRC’s refusal of its section 44 exemption application. The LAG relies on four grounds: that the Tribunal erred in finding section 44 was not intended to permit forms of discrimination that may arise under the SDA; that the Tribunal erred in finding section 3 of the AHRC Act imposed no mandatory duty relevant to the exercise of the exemption power; that, on its proper construction, the SDA gives priority to members of the female sex, including lesbians, in a way that can be accommodated alongside its gender identity protections; and that the decision lacked an evident and intelligible justification.

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24 SEPTEMBER 2025 — SEX DISCRIMINATION COMMISSIONER PUBLICLY REDEFINES CEDAW TO INCLUDE TRANSWOMEN

At the National Press Club, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody states that CEDAW “has been interpreted and understood to include all women”, explicitly including transwomen in “an inclusive definition of women”.

18 FEBRUARY 2026 — WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS BRIEF THE AHRC

On 18 February 2026, AAWAA, the Coalition of Activist Lesbians and the Feminist Legal Clinic meet with AHRC President Hugh de Kretser, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody, and Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay to discuss Australia’s sex and gender framework and its implications for women’s sex‑based protections and rights. The organisations submit that the framework has generated uncertainty about when female‑only spaces, services and sport are lawful and how sex‑based protections and rights under the SDA should be understood alongside gender identity provisions. They invite the Commission to use its section 11 powers under the AHRC Act to inquire into how the framework is operating for women and girls and to report to government with recommendations for legislative reform to restore and clarify women’s sex‑based protections and rights.

MARCH 2026 — AHRC RELEASES ‘EQUAL IDENTITIES’ REPORT

In March 2026, the Australian Human Rights Commission releases its Equal Identities report, which the Commission says found widespread discrimination against trans and gender diverse people across education, work, health, housing and other areas of public life. The report recommends that Parliament extend the positive duty in the SDA protecting workers to cover gender identity, sexual orientation and intersex status — the protected attributes in sections 5A, 5B and 5C of the Act — thereby bringing those attributes within the AHRC’s proactive enforcement regime.

15 APRIL 2026 — FEDERAL COURT ALLOWS LESBIAN ACTION GROUP’S APPLICATION

In Lesbian Action Group Inc v Australian Human Rights Commission [2026] FCA 432, a single judge of the Federal Court (Moshinsky J) allows the Lesbian Action Group’s appeal from the Administrative Review Tribunal, sets aside the Tribunal’s January 2025 decision affirming the AHRC’s refusal of its section 44 exemption application, and remits the matter for reconsideration in the ART by a different Tribunal member. The Court finds legal error in the Tribunal’s approach to the exemption application, including an unduly narrow construction of section 44 of the SDA and a failure to apply the section 10A duty in the AHRC Act to balance human rights as universal and indivisible. The Court also holds that the Commission’s exemption guidelines were “deficient” and should be revised to reflect the section 10A duty.

29 APRIL 2026 — AHRC PRESIDENT ADDRESSES NATIONAL PRESS CLUB

AHRC President Hugh de Kretser addresses the National Press Club in Canberra on 29 April 2026. Mr de Kretser is asked about the Commission’s approach to women’s sex‑based protections and rights, the treatment of female‑only spaces, and the AHRC’s failure to use its section 11 powers under the AHRC Act to examine Australia’s sex and gender framework and recommend legislative reform to Parliament. In response, Mr de Kretser says, “I don’t see great conflict there”, referring to the rights of women and the rights of transwomen.

15 MAY 2026 — FULL FEDERAL COURT DELIVERS JUDGMENT IN GIGGLE FOR GIRLS PTY LTD V TICKLE

The Full Court of the Federal Court dismisses Giggle and Grover’s appeal in Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle, and allows Tickle’s cross-appeal. The Court upholds the finding that Giggle and Grover had engaged in unlawful discrimination on the ground of gender identity, but substitutes a declaration of direct discrimination under section 5B(1) in place of the primary judge’s finding of indirect discrimination, finding that Tickle had been treated less favourably than a ‘cisgender’ woman would have been in the same or similar circumstances, and increases the damages award. The majority judgment of Abraham and Kennett JJ also finds that Tickle is a ‘woman’ for the purposes of the SDA. Critically, the Full Court traces the evolution of the SDA and contrasts earlier iterations — which it says gave “pre-eminence to the rights of women” — with the current Act, concluding that “no such pre-eminence can now be seen in the provisions of the Act” and stating that whether this is “a good thing is, of course, not a matter for this Court.”

25 MAY 2026 — ALISON PENFOLD INTRODUCES THE SEX DISCRIMINATION AMENDMENT (SEX-BASED RIGHTS) BILL 2026

On 25 May 2026, Nationals Member for Lyne Alison Penfold introduces the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sex-Based Rights) Bill 2026 into the House of Representatives as a private member’s Bill. The Bill would amend the Sex Discrimination Act to insert a biological, binary definition of ‘sex’, introduce new definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ grounded in biological sex, and explicitly protect female-only spaces and services — including prisons, domestic violence shelters, sporting competitions, women’s gyms and bathrooms.

JUNE 2026 — SEX DISCRIMINATION COMMISSIONER CONDEMNS PENFOLD BILL

On 2 June 2026, Dr Cody publishes an op-ed in The Australian on gendered violence and the SDA. In subsequent media interviews, she describes Penfold’s Bill as a “retrograde step” for women, warning it creates a “false competition” between women’s and trans rights.

11 JUNE 2026 — AHRC PRESIDENT RULES OUT SECTION 11 INQUIRY AND DESCRIBES WOMEN’S RIGHTS VERSUS ‘TRANS RIGHTS’ AS A “NARROW AREA OF INTERSECTION”

At the Perth stop of ‘The Answer Is Human Rights’ seminar series, AHRC President Hugh de Kretser describes prisons, domestic‑violence refuges and gyms as a “narrow area of intersection” between women’s rights and trans rights and says the existing exemption and special‑measure framework is the way for women to protect female‑only spaces. When asked whether the Commission would use its section 11 powers to review the sex and gender framework and recommend legislative reform restoring women’s sex‑based protections and rights after Giggle v Tickle, he replies that the AHRC has “no plans for an inquiry into those things”.

17 JUNE 2026 — AHRC TELLS WOMEN TO RELY ON DEFICIENT GUIDELINES AT SYDNEY SEMINAR

At the Sydney stop of the AHRC’s national ‘The Answer Is Human Rights’ seminar series, women’s advocates ask Commission officers what the AHRC will do to fix its SDA exemption guidelines, after the Federal Court in LAG v AHRC found those guidelines to be deficient. Officers respond “We have guidelines”, referring women back to the existing rules for exemptions. No timeline for the revision of those rules is provided, implementing the Federal Court’s findings in LAG v AHRC.

25 JUNE 2026 — AHRC TELLS WOMEN THAT EXEMPTIONS ARE NOT ABOUT “PRIVILEGING ONE SET OF RIGHTS OVER ANOTHER”  

At the Adelaide ‘The Answer Is Human Rights’ seminar on 25 June 2026, the AHRC is questioned about the Commission’s conduct in the LAG case and its approach to exemptions and costs after the Federal Court’s April 2026 judgment. AHRC officers say that their actions were “never about privileging one set of rights over another”.

1 JULY 2026 — JULIA GILLARD MAKES PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE 2013 SDA AMENDMENTS

At a University of Manchester event, former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard is asked about her government’s 2013 amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act, which added gender identity as a protected attribute. She responds saying that “the issues you are referring to were not raised by anyone, because they simply weren’t a matter of public discourse the way they are today… So it was a different time… it wasn’t something squarely before the parliament at the time that the legislation was being amended”.

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SOURCE DOCUMENTS

CEDAW

Relevant Acts and Bills

Early SDA history 

SDA legislation and parliamentary history

Media coverage/public comments 

Government and agency reports/guidelines 

Respect@Work report

LAG v AHRC

Tickle v Giggle

FOI/Office for Women consultation 

Women’s Advocate blog posts

Published