State of Queensland v. Tafao, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland (2021)

The respondent is a transgender woman who was assigned male at birth. During her time in prison at a correctional centre for male prisoners, she asked to be referred to using female pronouns; however, the prison authorities required her and all inmates to identify as male. The Queensland Court of Appeal overturned the Appeal Tribunal to find that there was no direct or indirect discrimination arising from the requirement to identify as male. The Court of Appeal held that the requirement was reasonable in the circumstances to ensure the security and good order of the prison and the respondent’s own safety. The prison authorities were protected defendants under the corrective services legislation in Queensland. This meant that additional factors had to be taken into account by the Tribunal when determining if there was indirect discrimination under the s11 Anti-Discrimination Act (Qld), including (a) the security and good order of the corrective services facility and (b) the cost to the prison authorities of imposing an alternative requirement. Queensland corrective services policy has now been amended to allow for transgender prisoners to be referred to in a manner consistent with their gender identity, with limited exceptions.

Topics

• Custodial violence
• Gender discrimination
• LGBTIQ

Geographical location

• Australia and Oceania
• Australia
• Queensland

Keywords

• trans rights
• gender identity and expression
• prisoner rights

Year

• 2021

External URL

• State of Queensland v. Tafao, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland (2021)

Court

• Supreme Court of Queensland

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• Australia