Transsexual recognition in Australia

It seems clear that the law, which is often thought to move in a mysterious way, is now at last prepared to recognise the effect of a sex reassignment procedure as altering the legal status of a person. The all- important chromosome in Corbett v Corbett has shrunk to insignificance. This has happened not so much by any medical or surgical considerations, but rather by the growing importance of anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation, as can be seen in the recent developments in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. Thus the legalistic hang-ups of the past are being laid to rest by a more compassionate and pragmatic consideration of reality. Instead of looking at chromosomes, the law is at last prepared to look at humans.