The ACT government has introduced Australia's first legislation that would ban unnecessary and irreversible medical procedures for people who are born intersex.
In an emotional speech in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Chief Minister Andrew Barr committed to changes he said had been too long in the making.
"Intersex people have been harmed," Mr Barr said.
"Some of the treatments they received did not meet their care needs.
"Treatments did not uphold their rights."
Intersex people — the "I" in LGBTQI+ — are born with sex characteristics, such as genitals, gonads or chromosome patterns, that do not fit typical male or female norms.
Advocates say some intersex people are insufficiently involved in permanent decisions about their bodies, with children often undergoing irreversible medical procedures when they are too young to consent.
If the ACT legislation is passed, it will stop deferrable treatments on intersex people's sex characteristics until they are old enough to take part in the decision.
Mr Barr said his government would offer a "new approach" that would seek to prevent past harms.
"We endeavour to work with each individual to ensure that each person is respected, celebrated and most importantly given every opportunity to make their own decisions about their own body," he said.
The ACT is one of few places in the world to consider such laws.
The Chief Minister said he hoped other jurisdictions were watching closely, adding the ACT legislation was a "template for national reform".
"If it wasn't for the ACT, I suspect we might have been waiting even longer for other parts of the country to follow," Mr Barr said.
The proposed ACT laws will not ban emergency medical procedures for intersex children, nor surgery that does not permanently affect a person's sex characteristics.
The legislation would also allow treatments if the person has the capacity to consent to them.
"What it seeks to do is defer preventable treatment, things we don't need to do now that can involve the individuals when they’re able to consent," Mr Barr said.
"There might be a propensity in the political system and some in the community to want to misrepresent what this is.
“I will endeavour to push back on that, but I also think there is a responsibility for those reporting on the issues to be clear about that as well."
'Momentous day' for intersex community
Mimi Hall and her family were among dozens of members of the intersex community in the assembly on Wednesday who watched Mr Barr introduce the bill.
The term "intersex" was unknown to most people when Ms Hall was born.
She said she knew from a young age she was different from her peers, but only found out she was intersex when she was 21.
"I think, growing up, there was a lot of confusion around what I was, and who I was and what made me 'me'," she said.
"It was only when I watched a video on YouTube that I found out that I was intersex."
She decided to be open about it as keeping it private "gave it too much power".
"I feel really privileged to be here on such an amazing day — on such a momentous day when there is so much actual change happening for our community," she said.
Ms Hall's mother, Sian Morgan Hall, said the proposed law was just as important for parents and carers as it was for intersex people themselves.
She had "no idea" what intersex meant when her daughter was born.
"At the time she was diagnosed, there were no support groups, there was nobody to go to for help," she said.
"We felt that we had major decisions to make about someone else — about someone else's body — which we felt not at all comfortable about.
"You always try the best for your children but the decisions you make, we realised, were life-changing."
Victoria considering similar laws
In 2021, the Victorian government commissioned Equality Australia to develop proposed legal changes.
The organisation conducted the largest-ever consultation of intersex people, their families and clinicians.
Its chief executive, Anna Brown, said the ACT model would provide greater transparency over decision-making.
"It ensures young people are given the dignity of autonomy about the decisions that are made about their own body," Ms Brown said.
"It also gives clinicians the assurance that, with the new scheme, there's a decision-making process in place that also ensures there's a rigorous process that protects all parties involved."
The ACT bill includes a two-year review period to ensure the laws are working as intended.
The ACT opposition is yet to indicate whether it will support the legislation.
