Parliament, not the courts, holds the key to fixing the Sex Discrimination Act. Dr Megan Blake explains what workable reform would need to address, from the meaning of 'sex' to the limits of the exemption process. Dr Megan Blake is co-counsel for the Lesbian Action Group in its case against the Australian Human Rights Commission … Continue reading Reforming the Sex Discrimination Act: An interview with Dr Megan Blake
Tag: Lesbian Action Group
A timeline of women’s rights: CEDAW, the 2013 amendments, and the loss of sex‑based protections
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 … Continue reading A timeline of women’s rights: CEDAW, the 2013 amendments, and the loss of sex‑based protections
Women affected by AHRC decisions get answers in Adelaide – but key questions remain
In April 2026, the Federal Court found legal error in the Australian Human Rights Commission's approach to the Lesbian Action Group's exemption application and held that the Commission's own guidelines were deficient. In June, the Commission went to Adelaide to talk about human rights. Some of the women most affected by its decisions went too. … Continue reading Women affected by AHRC decisions get answers in Adelaide – but key questions remain
‘We have guidelines’: AHRC tells women to rely on deficient rules for exemptions
At the AHRC's national 'The Answer Is Human Rights' seminar series, women's advocates have now twice put direct governance questions to Commission officers and twice received responses that acknowledge that questions exist — but without answering them. In Sydney on 17 June, the question was specific: the Federal Court, in the Lesbian Action Group vs … Continue reading ‘We have guidelines’: AHRC tells women to rely on deficient rules for exemptions
Did the AHRC seek costs against the Lesbian Action Group? A timeline
https://youtu.be/nHb1jUUm9nI August 2023 — The Lesbian Action Group applied to the Australian Human Rights Commission for a temporary exemption under section 44 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) to hold lesbians born female only public events. 12 October 2023 — The Commission refused the exemption. 20 January 2025 — The Administrative Review Tribunal affirmed … Continue reading Did the AHRC seek costs against the Lesbian Action Group? A timeline
No great conflict: The AHRC, the Lesbian Action Group, and the questions Parliament needs to ask
The Australian Human Rights Commission wants Parliament to expand its enforcement powers in matters of sex and gender. We asked the Commission's President about it at the National Press Club. On 29 April 2026, Mr Hugh de Kretser, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, addressed the National Press Club in Canberra. The Women's Advocate … Continue reading No great conflict: The AHRC, the Lesbian Action Group, and the questions Parliament needs to ask
Equality Australia and the Lesbian Action Group: Contesting the meaning of ‘woman’ in women’s spaces
The Tickle v Giggle case has become a defining moment in Australian discrimination law, crystallising fundamental tensions around sex and gender. As an appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court gets underway, two vastly different ideas have emerged about how women’s spaces should be defined and protected: Equality Australia’s, and the Lesbian Action … Continue reading Equality Australia and the Lesbian Action Group: Contesting the meaning of ‘woman’ in women’s spaces
Institutional integrity, free association, and women’s rights: Our groups join the national push for sex-based protections
As the 2025 federal election approaches, the Affiliation of Australian Women’s Action Alliances (AAWAA) and its member groups are taking action. Across the country, our women-led organisations — and our individual members — are writing directly to candidates, urging them to restore clarity and fairness to Australia’s anti-discrimination framework. Our member groups have joined the … Continue reading Institutional integrity, free association, and women’s rights: Our groups join the national push for sex-based protections
Local Action: Carole Ann, The fight for lesbian rights
AAWAA presents ‘Local Action’—interviews with women making a difference across Australia. In this edition, we speak with Carole Ann. She and the women of the Lesbian Action Group are steadfast in their belief that men cannot be lesbians. After gender ideology eroded lesbian-only spaces in the 1990s—demanding that men be included in lesbian events—many women … Continue reading Local Action: Carole Ann, The fight for lesbian rights
Not too late for AHRC to uphold lesbians’ civil and political rights to opinion and assembly
The Affiliation of Australian Women’s Action Alliances (AAWAA) is surprised and disappointed at the Australian Human Rights Commission’s preliminary view not to grant a temporary exemption to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA) that would allow lesbians to meet on the basis of their sex and their sexual orientation. We are particularly puzzled as the … Continue reading Not too late for AHRC to uphold lesbians’ civil and political rights to opinion and assembly
State and territory women’s alliances back lesbian-only gatherings
Two powerful letters sent to the Australian Human Rights Commission in August 2023 demonstrate clear, grassroots support for the Lesbian Action Group’s right to female-only events. Both the Queensland Women’s Action Alliance (QWAA) and the Western Australian Women’s Action Alliance (WAWAA) wrote in strong, principled defence of lesbian women’s right to assemble as a group, … Continue reading State and territory women’s alliances back lesbian-only gatherings