Laws and guidelines
A whole of Government approach
The Tasmanian Government believes all Tasmanians have the right to access services. This includes LGBTIQ+ Tasmanians, their friends, and families.
There is a Whole-of-Government Framework for LGBTIQ+ Tasmanians. A new framework is under development.
All Department of Health staff are to:
- treat patients, clients and colleagues with respect. This is regardless of their sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
- not assume a person's sex or gender based on things such as name, voice or appearance.
- collect, manage and communicate sex and gender information in an inclusive, non-discriminatory way. Accept a person's choice.
- follow the Code of Conduct for the public sector.
The Anti-Discrimination Act expects certain behaviour. So do professional standards for practice. Standards govern Health Services and different professions. Check the standards for your area or professional group.
The National Quality and Safety Health Services Standards (NQSHS)
The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards provide a nationally consistent statement of the level of care consumers can expect from health service organisations.
View the National Quality and Safety Health Services Standards here
Anti-Discrimination Act, Tasmania 1998
Under the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (the Act), it is discrimination when a person is treated worse than other people or disadvantaged because they have a particular characteristic, such as their age, race, sex, or disability. Sexual orientation, Gender, Gender identity and Intersex variations of sex characteristics are in the Act.
Learn more about discrimination on the Equal Opportunity Tasmania website
Relationships Act 2003 (Tasmania)
Go to the Relationships Act 2003
Department of Health LGBTIQ+ Reference Group
In 1999 the (then) Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) set up a group with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community. This working group met for many years and achieved some important culture changes across the Department.
They are now the DoH LGBTIQ+ Reference Group and one of several reference groups within the Tasmanian government. There is also a Whole-of-Government LGBTIQ+ reference group.
The groups work on ways to improve access and opportunities for LGBTIQ+ people.
Sex and Gender Reform
in 2019 the Tasmanian Parliament passed the Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage and Gender Amendments) Act 2019 (the JRL Act). This Act made changes to how the Tasmanian Government collects and presents sex and gender information. This includes information on Birth Certificates.
Learn about the legal change in this report from the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute
Clinical guidelines
The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne developed the below guidelines to maximise quality care provision to trans and gender diverse children and adolescents across Australia.
