There is some good news for our transgender and interest sisters and brothers in Australia. Australian passports for transpeople no longer require sex reassignment surgery before a gender change is made. All that is required under the new regime is a supporting statement from a physician.
Additionally, intersex people have the option of checking a box marked X under gender.
This amendment makes life easier and significantly reduces the administrative burden for sex and gender diverse people who want a passport that reflects their gender and physical appearance.
--Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd
Most people take for granted the ability to travel freely and without fear of discrimination. This measure will extend the same freedoms to sex and gender diverse Australians. While it’s expected this change will only affect a handful of Australians, it’s an important step in removing discrimination for sex and gender diverse people.
--Attorney General Robert McClelland
The United States made an administrative rule change in 2010 that dropped the surgery requirement for transgender people. Canada still requires sex reassignment surgery before a change will be made. New Zealand requires only a favorable ruling by a family court.
The UK is considering gender-free passports, according to some headlines, but a closer examination reveals that they are really considering the introduction of an X category for people of indeterminate sex. Elimination of gender categorization from passports is in the very early stages of discussion.
We are exploring with international partners and relevant stakeholders the security implications of gender not being displayed in the passport. This is at the early discussion stage and no decisions have been taken. Any changes to the UK passport would need to satisfy our rigorous security requirements.
--a spokesman for the Identity and Passport Service
Current regulations in the UK call for transgender and interest people to decide on a gender, which may not coincide with the gender assigned at birth. Those undergoing gender reassignment operations can only adjust the gender on their passports after completion of their procedures.
Australian transgender activists are reportedly pleased with the new rules.
The Australian Coalition for Equality said people would now be able to travel overseas without being stopped by officials because their passport doesn't match their public identity.
From that point of view, it's a huge step forward.
It's an incredible embarrassment to be a woman for years but still have a passport that says they're male.
The flow-on effects acknowledge these people are human beings with rights.
--spokeswoman Martine Delaney
Mr Rudd said the reform was in line with the Government's efforts to remove discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
There are people in the UK totally opposed to the process being considered there, seemingly thinking it is all about sparing our feelings, when the truth is that it is really a matter of safety. A woman traveling with a passport which declares that she is male runs the risk of being detained because of the mismatched data…and that detainment quite possibly would be in a cell with male detainees.
The Times of India published the following statement in their Economic Times.
A middle path of opting for 'none of the above' - as Anna Hazare moots for ballot choices - would complicate the issue too; the more inclusive solution could be a provision for 'both' when it comes to slotting those in transition. That would solve the officials' dilemma and also give transgenders a link to the majority who are already biologically typecast. Besides, if other nations decide to address such issues regarding gender by neutralising rather than accommodating, not only will the pronouns 'he' and 'she' face eventual extinction, as is happening in pre-schools in Sweden already from this year, languages that allocate a gender to even inanimate objects, as Hindi does, will inevitably face the wrath of political correctness.