8 hard-won rights for LGBTI Australians

This article was written in 2017, It uses terminology that was common at time of writing but which may not be appropriate over time.

This article uses the term LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) throughout. There is no single community standard for this acronym, and this article has adopted the usual form used by government documents. The Museum recognises some groups consider the acronym inadequate, and does not wish to exclude any group of people from discussions of rights.

This article also uses terminology now considered outdated or offensive. This terminology is intended to be read purely in its historical context.

The author and the Museum would like to thank the members of the LGBTI community who helped with the writing of this article.

Here are some of the milestones in the struggle by LGBTI activists fighting for their rights in Australian society. This list is by no means extensive or definitive, and represents only a small part of the story of LGBTI rights in Australia. 

1975: Decriminalisation

The 1972 murder of gay Adelaide academic George Duncan was widely blamed on undercover police. The murder made Duncan a martyr to the gay rights movement, and sparked calls for reform. The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Amendment Act 1975 made homosexual acts legal between consenting adults. The Australian Capital Territory followed in 1976, followed by Victoria in 1980. It would take more than a decade for all states to follow suit.

The Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994 formally legalised homosexuality across Australia, overriding state laws. The Tasmanian government had refused to act on law reform, and did not comply with recommendations to remove anti-sodomy laws on the basis of human rights and discrimination. The conflict between state and federal law went through several legal challenges, with campaigners like Rodney Croome and Nicolas Toonen arguing for the law’s repeal. Finally, in 1997, Tasmania repealed its sodomy laws, the last Australian jurisdiction to do so. 

1978: The first Mardi Gras

The 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York saw hundreds of LGBTI people revolt against their treatment by police, and saw the birth of the gay rights movement, as it was called at the time. On the anniversary of the riots, LGBTI people began leading marches and protests, and the gay pride parade was born. 

On the ninth anniversary of Stonewall, 24 June 1978, several hundred people marched from Taylor Square to Hyde Park in Sydney. When they tried to move through barricades, police moved in. 53 people were arrested, some of whom were violently assaulted.

The heavy-handed approach by authorities was strongly criticised, and led indirectly to a relaxation of protest laws in NSW. The event the next year was peaceful and successful, and it soon became a popular Sydney event: the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Today, the Mardi Gras contributes $30 million annually to Sydney’s economy and attracts crowds of hundreds of thousands.

1982: Anti-discrimination laws

Even though homosexuality was still a crime, in 1982 the Wran government in New South Wales passed an amendment to the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, making it illegal to discriminate against LGBTI people.  The amendment was partly a response to conservative forces blocking moves to decriminalise homosexuality, which did occur two years later. The NSW amendment paved the way for other states and territories to follow. The federal parliament took much longer to pass a comprehensive ban, but finally did so on 25 June 2013. Of course, none of this legislation ended the discrimination, but it was hailed as a step forward in LBGTI rights.

1992: Removal of military service ban

In 1973, future PM Paul Keating had voted in the House of Representatives against the decriminalising of homosexuality in the ACT. By 1992, his attitude had changed. Defence Force chiefs and Keating’s own Defence Minister, Robert Ray, strongly favoured retaining a ban on openly gay men and women serving in the Australian Defence Force. Keating argued strongly in Cabinet against the ban, arguing the ADF should be brought in line with Australian community values and human rights obligations. Defence leaders and the Opposition strongly opposed any change, but despite that opposition, Cabinet voted to lift the ban and allow LGBTI people to serve.

In 2005 the ADF began ensuring equal benefits to the partners of LGBTI personnel.

2002: Adoption rights

While some jurisdictions had allowed LGBTI people to adopt children, most Australian states only permitted it, from the 1980s, under some circumstances. In 2002, Western Australia passed the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Act 2002 which made the sexual orientation and gender of couples irrelevant when considering their application for adoption.

In 2004 the ACT passed a similar law. It took a while for the other states to catch up, with the most recent change being made in South Australia in 2017. Today, only the Northern Territory prohibits LGBTI couples from adopting children.

2013: Convictions expunged

Beginning in 2013, an injustice was corrected when state and territory governments began expunging (removing) the historical convictions of LGBTI people convicted under sodomy laws. South Australia allowed sodomy convictions to become ‘spent’, not appearing on criminal records, in 2013. New South Wales removed all sodomy convictions in 2014, and Victoria and the ACT in 2015. On 24 May 2016, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews formally apologised to LGBTI people for their past treatment.