Australians now have the choice to select a third gender on their passports, according to BBC News. Before this new guideline, only those who have undergone reassignment surgery were allowed to change their passport gender details. Now, transgender people are able to choose a third option – ‘indeterminate’ – that will be shown on Australian passports as ‘X’.
An excerpt from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reads:
A passport may be issued to sex and gender diverse applicants in M (male), F (female) or X (indeterminate/unspecified/intersex).
Applicants must meet all other normal passport requirements, such as providing proof of identity documents to support their identity in the wider community.
The policy removes unnecessary obstacles to recording a person’s preferred gender in their passport and was developed in close consultation with sex and gender diverse community organisations in Australia.
This initiative is in line with the Australian Government’s commitment to remove discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or sex and gender identity.
