I will discuss a little of my own experience, culminating in obtaining a new Birth Certificate and Passport, and this trip.

Before I start, I think it is helpful if you understand a little of my background and experiences of the last couple of decades. I have had a relatively easy time in getting to where I am today, in comparison to that of many of my friends. I am still alive, I have kept contact with almost all family members and friends, and have beaten depression. I have continued to share much of my life with my former partner, even after I made all these life changing decisions. I obtained a new job fairly quickly after starting to look for work. I am an optimist, and not much bothers me. I have tertiary education in accounting, and that made re-entry to the workforce easier than it could have been. I have some basic counselling training and spend a lot of time in community activities to broaden my contact with the world at large.

History Lesson
I want to provide a quick, potted history lesson to put Australia in context. We are quite different in many ways, even though our origins are very English. I do not pretend this info is absolutely correct, but it conveys the ideas that it is helpful for you to understand.

Australia was colonised by the English after we had a visit by Yorkshireman Captain James Cook in 1770. Of course, I was not there at the time, but I was taught this at school.

In 1788, the first colonists arrived, consisting of convicts and their guard. Several shiploads arrived in Sydney (New South Wales as it became known), and many ships arrived progressively at other ports over several decades.

By the late 1800s, six dominant cities had laid claim over all of Australia, exploration had defined the territories they controlled, and six State boundaries were agreed in a mostly peaceful fashion. All except Adelaide (South Australia) started as penal settlements, but near the end of the 1800s, we were six very separate colonies. Most Australian States were legitimised by English legislation, and we just adopted the English body of legislation and case law of the time, until local systems could be set up.

Leading up to 1901 and Federation, there was a push to establish an Australian Government, and the States agreed on a system to transfer some of their powers to a new Federal Government. 1901 saw the new Parliament created, a constitution in place, and Defence, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Taxation were some of the areas to be administered by the new Federal Government. Even then, Sydney and Melbourne were the dominant commercial centres, and New South Wales and Victoria could not agree on where the new Parliament would be based. Canberra was born.

The six States kept much of their independence. So, the States kept a lot more power than they have today; things like Education, Health, Policing, Roads and Transport, and the many other activities they felt did not warrant a national approach. Railways are an example of the fierce independence of each State. We have three different railway gauges, based on which English engineer accepted the position of Superintending Engineer. Those parochial decisions still cause us to have a disjointed railway network today, and the States today are often bullied or bribed to give up more power to the Federal Government.

Nationally, we have a two house Federal Government based in Canberrs, and most States have a two-house system of government as well, including South Australia, which has a population of less than two million people. Local Government also has its place, much as it does here in England, but is not an issue in today's discussion.

Our Federal government controls the Marriage Act of 1911, and the State governments control the registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages. This separation has been both good and bad for us.

Our General Environment
My reason for spending so much time on our history is that I want to show why we appear to be so disjointed in dealings about transgender issues. It hopefully explains why we have six separate States today, and six very separate groups of people trying to change six indifferent Governments into doing something for us. There are several areas I want to talk about.

Acceptance - for most of us, we are accepted for who we are, and can safely live our lives as valuable members of our communities. Australians are largely tolerant of us, and willingly befriend us if we do not push boundaries too far. Having said that, I know many people who are doing it tough through no fault of their own, and we still do have a way to go. I have seen a marked improvement of transgender reporting in the media in the last year or two, and more and more people can recall some positive contact with one of us. I believe we are winning the acceptance war slowly but surely. The image of past decades that we were either a 'les girls' performer, or an outrageous looking drag queen is all but gone, and a large percentage of the public really do understand who we are.

People and Clubs - each State has a number of support groups, often with only a few members, and was set up by competing co-ordinators who think their way is best. They mostly do good work in providing friendship and support, but it is still much more fragmented than I think is best for our community as a whole. Some groups focus on people of crossdressing inclinations, others on people transitioning, some encourage partners, family and friends and others concentrate on advocacy. They are all ad hoc and fragmented. These groups only see a very small percentage of our total community - there are large numbers that do not know that support networks exist, or have had a bad experience with our community. As the past Email monitor of the Carrousel Club in South Australia, I received many messages stating they wish they had found out about us years earlier. This probably suggests we are totally disorganised, but partly it is because each State faces a different set of legislation and conditions that impact on us, and we need to lobby at the State level. We will explore that soon.

I recently joined a group in Yahoo which is reporting and disemanating information about its activites to try and improve our legal position. These few people are doing some good work, but there are many more people out there also working independently for the same issues. We have no effective national organisation like PFC.

Medical Services - each State has a recognised path that needs to be taken to achieve realistic gender counselling as a possible prerequisite for surgery or hormonal intervention. There are other secondary pathways (but all within the legal medical framework), where people are fortunate to stumble upon a good Doctor and/or psychiatrist, who is prepared to look after them with dignity and acceptance. Often, when these practitioners become known, they stop accepting bookings because they are too busy. In Australia, we have three recognised gender surgeons, one each in Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast. The Melbourne clinic and surgeon follow the Benjamin standards, and Dr Ceber is rated the best by most people. The other two surgeons will accept recommendation by two psychiatrists. Adelaide has a private clinic accredited to feed patients to the Melbourne clinic and surgeon. Other States have a few recognised psychiatrists who will refer patients on.

Our National Health system is called Medicare, and it will pay for about one third of the surgical procedures for a male to female procedure. Private health insurance is desirable ($80 per month) and can fully cover private hospital costs. My out of pocket expenses nearly four years ago were about $5,000 (2,000 pounds) out of about $15,000 in total. We do not have a public option to have to surgery undertaken in a public hospital.

Anti discrimination law - all States have some form of anti-discrimination law and equal opportunity law. Some specifically mention transsexual people. It is generally accepted that we are covered by the legislation, but there are many grey areas, and few cases are publicly taken before the courts. Those that have, are generally successful.

Policing
In New South Wales, a lot of good work has been done by the Gender Centre to help formulate transgender policies in the Police Force, the Government and prisons in particular.

Employment - there are mixed fortunes here. Too many of us encounter unexpected difficulties in our pathway towards living who we are, and transitioning on the job, or finding work is usually difficult. Living without family support and no job is common. I conducted an informal survey a few years ago, and found that unemployment was about 70% in our community. However, many have successfully transitioned within the public service, supported by a strong equal opportunity culture. A few of us have successfully found work as ourselves in the private sector or in community organisations. Those who cannot find work either receive unemployment benefits, or are deemed to have a medical condition and receive a disability support pension.

Our Legislation Environment
I want to talk about State specific differences, and will start with my home State, South Australia, because it has been the most progressive in Australia.

In the 1970s, legislation was introduced that allowed for recognition of gender surgery of an approved kind, and regulated gender processes. An Act called the Sex Re-assignment Act was created to support a gender and surgery clinic in an Adelaide public hospital. Funding was obtained to support a research program, and it was quite successful for several years. The funds dried up, the clinic closed, and the surgical team disbanded. The critical thing was that the legislation remained, although almost forgotten. The legislation included a pathway to have Birth Certificates amended, and it also prescribed that a changed record of gender would be accepted for all purposes in South Australia. In the mid 90's when I was knocking on the doors of psychiatrists, one psychiatrist was establishing a clinic within the framework of this legislation, and was able to short cut the referral process to the mostly privately funded clinic in Melbourne, where there were two accredited surgeons for a time.

I proceeded through this new Adelaide clinic for a few years, eventually confirming that Jan was the real me, and would be for the rest of my life. Once I could satisfy several conditions, our legislation allowed me to apply for what the Act called a Recognition Certificate. The conditions were a bit onerous :

• I had to be divorced or unmarried
• I had to have had gender surgery, and required a declaration from the surgeon, witnessed by a JP
• I needed a declaration from my psychiatrist to say I was free from psychological disorders
• I had to fill in a form and have it witnessed by a Justice of the Peace
• I had to attend a special court hearing in front of a specially designated magistrate to have the certificate declared issued.
• I had to wait for 30 days in case the South Australian Attorney-General wanted to appeal the decision

The good news is that in Australia, the Births, Deaths and Marriage registry (BDM) is run by the State under State law. Because I was born in South Australia, the Sex Re-assignment Act allows me to use my Recognition Certificate to apply for an amended Birth Certificate. I already had a change of name certificate showing Jan Squire, male, and was confident I could get the male word changed to female. What I was not confident about was whether the back of the form would say formerly Cecil (not my previous name), male. I had to hassle them a bit, and had to write a submission about why having my former details on the back was pointless and against the legislation that gave me the Certificate. I am pleased to say I have a birth certificate with no reference to my past. Sadly, we have lots of transsexuals in SA who were born in the UK or elswhere, and they cannot get their rightful birth certificate. Maybe one day soon?

All States in Australia except Victoria now have legislation that allows for the amending and re-issue of Birth Certificates, and they are all mostly copies of that part of the South Australian legislation. That means they require the same onerous conditions like having had surgery, and being single or divorced.

In Victoria, there is intense lobbying underway, but the debate keeps being sidetracked with issues about whether our birth certificates were right or wrong initially, and whether the registrar is entitled to unilaterally change the record, and why does this really matter anyway. There is endless confusion about the role of the birth record being a historical record (which is mostly fine for genealogists), and its widespread use as a current proof of identity document (which must reflect the present). This issue particularly hurts intersex people, young people and anyone who still has their whole life ahead of them, a life that can be easily destroyed by a wrongly worded Birth Certificate

Elsewhere around Australia and in my home State, we are consistently being treated inconsistently. Superannuation issues can be difficult unless there is a valid marriage in place, or the wishes are clearly stated in a will. I applied for a changed Drivers License soon after Jan appeared, and had absolutely no problems. They even waived the usual fee. Medicare was happy to change my records although they kept a 'secret' record on their client database to help their customer service staff. My difference was not an issue when I applied to become a Justice of the Peace. However, in most cases, Government Offices wanted to know about my past without seeming to do anything with the information, and it is very difficult to conceal it fully. Our local Blood Bank was somewhat bloody minded - they were most annoyed about my changes, but recorded my name change and made me certify I would remain celebate in order to continue being a donor.They still classify me as male. In some States, Blood Banks have accepted transgender donors happily, while in others, they absolutely refuse us as donors because we are seen as a high risk group. Anyone can change boy or girlfriends and the Bloodbank do not want to know, but I am not allowed to even have one. Nationally, we can register for unemployment or other benefits in our gender of appearance, I am accepted as Jan for the purpose of Company law and taxation, I can apply for various business permits, and do almost anything. Except where passports and marriage are involved - then it becomes a minefield.

Passports
Official policy is that a passport will be issued to the gender stated on your birth certificate. After gender surgery, with or without a Recognition Certificate, our appropriate gender can be shown, but they need some proof. I have heard of transgendered people being given a passport showing their current photo and gender without having undergone surgery. This was usually allowed as a safety issue for the traveller. There is currently a person in Australia wanting to travel overseas a few weeks after her surgery, but the Department refuses to issue the passport in the female name and gender prior to that surgery. There is intense lobbying still happening, and I am hoping sanity will prevail.

A Recognition Certificate will generally be accepted to indicate gender if it is different from what is on the Birth Certificate, but it clearly tells everyone who you were (against all our privacy legislation). When I was applying for my passport, I rang the passport office's telephone help desk, and was advised I could use my amended Birth Certificate, because it was issued in South Australia, under the conditions I outlined earlier. Because I have a Birth Certificate that does not identify my past, I could happily apply for my passport at my local Post Office. Many people have a Recognition Certificate but do not have an amended Birth Certificate, and have to produce multiple documents to apply for a passport, and disclose their 'difference' for everyone to see. In my case, I was able to use my new Birth Certificate even though our laws say I must not use it in another juristiction without declaring its origins.

Marriage
There is mostly good news here, but coupled with some uncertainty. Our Government has resolutely refused to allow people of a transsexual background to marry in their preferred gender. The usual argument is that it is a same sex marriage, which, they argue, has never been acceptable. This would still be the case but for the willingness of 'Kevin' and 'Jennifer' to challenge this refusal in the Family Court. The third key party was Rachael Wallbank, who led the legal team in this court challenge. Rachel is herself of transsexual background.

I will outline some of the facts of this case, and the current result. Kevin is a FtM person who has lived in a family relationship for many years, and is seen as a male by family, friends, and the children living in their family unit. The court held that Kevin was in fact male for the purposes of the Marriage Act, and their marriage should be confirmed. Justice Chisolm, in an extraordinarily enlightened decision, commented that Kevin had always perceived himself to be male, and the evidence showed that he was perceived by those who knew him to have had male characteristics since he was a young child. Chisholm J decided he only needed to determine Kevin's sex at the time of marriage, which he found to be male, despite discordant chromosomes and an absence of complete surgical intervention. His Honour also said there were considerable errors inherent in the propositions of Ormrod CJ in the Corbett case, and he set that case aside. The details of the Kevin and Jennifer case can be found in a few places - Rachael Wallbank's web site and the w_o_m_a_n web site are two sources where more information is available.

Continuing, Chisholm J quoted Professor Gooran and a colleague :
"There should be no escape for medical or legal authorities that these definitions ought to be corrected and updated when new information becomes available, particularly when new or outdated definitions bring suffering to some of our fellow human beings."

One more quote from Chisholm J, on the need for all relevant matters to be considered :
"The relevant matters include, in my opinion, the person's biological and physical characteristics at birth, including gonads, genitals and chromosomes; the person's life experiences, including the sex in which he or she is brought up and the person's attitude to it; the person's perception as a man or woman; the extent to which the person has functioned in society as a man or woman; any hormonal, surgical or other sex reassignment treatments the person has undergone, and the consequences of such treatment; and the person's biological, psychological and physical characteristics at the time of marriage, including (if they can be identified) any biological features of the person's brain that are associated with a particular sex. It is clear from the Australian authorities that post-operative transsexuals will normally be members of there reassigned sex."

The Government predictably appealed to the Full Court of the Family Court, and in February of this year, the Full Court of the Family Court dismissed the appeal.

There is a further right of appeal open to the Attorney General, but it has not been invoked yet. We all hope it will quietly sink into the body of case law, and those of us who want, can marry a guy. The Attorney-General's web site setting out the marriage 'rules', and the pages for marriage celebrants and religious celebrants has been slightly modified to reflect this change, but it does not clearly state our position beyond any doubt yet. One or two couples have taken advantage of the new ruling, but the floodgates have not opened, as some had predicted.

The present position is that we can marry in our gender of presentation, by the authority of Kevin and Jennifer' s case, and we owe them, and Rachel Wallbank, a great debt of gratitude. If I chose, I can legally marry a guy in Australia.

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