On May 31 the NSW Court of Appeal ruled in recognition of a legal third sex. The landmark decision changes the way the law deals with people who are neither male nor female.
The case was brought after Redfern resident Norrie changed hir status to “sex not specified” on hir birth certificate in 2010, becoming the first person in the world officially declared to be neither a man nor a woman.
But the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, acting “on new legal advice”, quickly revoked this status. Since then the case has been slowly making its way through the courts.
Between 1 and 2 per cent of the population are sex and gender diverse, and the ruling means they are now recognised in law.
Norrie said zie was delighted with the decision. “This destroys the legal reification that the gender binary has enjoyed,” zie said. “I want to thank my solicitor and all my friends who supported me; I’ve been working on this since 2009 and there have been many ups and downs.”
Though the case was brought in NSW, Norrie’s council, David Bennett QC AC, said the judgement would likely be very persuasive in other jurisdictions.
