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I never thought I'd be able to say it, but here, for once, is something that the
Kiwis are way ahead of us on, unlike cricket, rugby, or building boats.
In New Zealand, it is possible for a transsexual to change the sex on all her
(or his) identifying documents, such as passport, birth certificate, drivers
licence, etc. You can even marry someone of the opposite (to your reassigned)
sex, legally. Simply put, a transsexual in New Zealand is regarded as female
(or male), as far as the law is concerned.
The only 'fuzzy bit' here is the family courts' interpretation of "medical
intervention". Do they mean SRS? HRT? Just counseling? In any case, this
is a necessary precondition to the amendment of birth certificates, and the
interpretation has a hell of a lot of bearing on just whom this act applies
to.
A similar setup exists in South Australia, and the New South Wales government
are currently tabling similar legislation. Unfortunately, to the best of my
knowledge, that's about it, on a state by state basis.
Now on a federal basis, really the only two things that apply in Australia are
the rules governing issue of passports, as this is done by the department of
foreign affairs, and privacy laws, which simply say that a government
department or agency aren’t allowed to collect or hold unnecessary
information. There is the possibility of really good news on the horizon,
though. In 1995, Senator Sid Spindler introduced the Sexuality Discrimination
Bill into the senate. This covers a broad range of discrimination against
members of sexual minorities, and people with a transgender identity.
However, nowhere in the bill does it say that a transgendered person is to
be recognised as being a member of the gender in which they live, just that
all agencies are required to recognise ‘recognition certificates’ issued by
the states.
On the passport side, there is some good news. A pre op or post op tranny may
change the sex on her (or his) passport, as long as they provide the following
documentation:
- For a post op:
- Change of name deed, and a letter from your surgeon stating that your sex has
successfully been reassigned, will grant you a fully valid passport with your
new name and sex, and no reference to old details.
- For a pre op:
- Not as good, but a limited validity passport will be issued (good for one year),
if you provide a change of name deed and a letter from your doctor stating that
you intend to go overseas for SRS. Here you still get a 'limited validity'
passport, with your new name and sex, but only valid for a year.
Of course, many doctors would be all too pleased to stir the system and give
you a letter acknowledging that you've told them you're going to see Biber, or
whoever else, so although cheating, no one's actually breaking any laws. After
all, there's nothing in the leglislation that says you aren't allowed to change
your mind as soon as you get your passport.
If you exercise either option, you'll also be provided with a nasty little
letter stating that the department of foreign affairs doesn't like you, or
approve of what you're doing, or condone anything, and that they are only
providing the passport to minimise embarrassment at overseas customs points.
(My interpretation) In reality it just says that by issuing the passport, the
Federal government aren't recognising your re-assigned sex, and you can't use
the document as proof of gender for marriage purposes, etc.
Anyway, the full details are contained in the Department of
Foreign Affairs Manual of Australian Passport Issue (MAPI).
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