On 1 August 2019, the LGBTIQ Justice Working Group held its eleventh meeting. 

The list of members, terms of reference and communiques are available

Rebecca Falkingham, Secretary, Department of Justice and Community Safety, attended the meeting, providing an important opportunity to discuss Working Group priorities including:

  • scope of a ‘relevant person’ under the proposed amendments to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 (the Act). Under the Bill, an application to alter the record of sex in a child’s birth registration must be accompanied by a supporting statement from a doctor, registered psychologist or another ‘relevant person’ (to be prescribed by regulations)
  • implementation of the proposed amendments to the Act (if passed by Parliament) drawing on the practical experiences of the implementation of similar legislative amendments by other States and Territories
  • development of new legislation to prohibit conversion practices, in particular, the timing and consultation process to inform the development of the legislation;
  • review of funding agreements to ensure that services funded by the Government are delivered by organisations in a non-discriminatory way, in particular to LGBTIQ Victorians
  • work required to scope a service model to provide tailored and specialist legal information, education, referrals, and legal advice to LGBTIQ people in the proposed Victorian Pride Centre.

The Working Group will next meet on Monday 9 September 2019.