![\"Michelle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a274276e39eedf54a819f197226a8d148ead395c.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Updated May 17, 2026 \u2014 2:22pm,first published 1:57pm<\/p>\n
Save<\/p>\n
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n
Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has pledged to rewrite the Sex Discrimination Act to enshrine a definition of biological sex, after the Federal Court doubled the damages paid to a transgender woman blocked from a \u201cwoman-only\u201d app in a landmark discrimination case.<\/p>\n He described his vow to \u201cprotect single-sex spaces across Australian life\u201d as a \u201ccommon-sense\u201d response to the highly charged debate over gender identity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will define biological sex in the Act. Male or female. The sex you are born. And we will protect single-sex spaces across Australian life. This is not radical. It is common sense,\u201d he wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cLet me be clear about what this is not. This is not about targeting transgender Australians. Every protection they currently have remains. We are not removing a single protection from anyone. But we are recognising something that should never have been in doubt: biological sex is real, it matters, and women and girls deserve spaces where it is respected.\u201d<\/p>\n The Federal Court on Friday dismissed an appeal<\/a> from the creators of social media app Giggle, upholding a finding from 2024 that they had breached Commonwealth discrimination laws in blocking Roxanne Tickle from an app they described as a \u201csafe space\u201d for women.<\/p>\n Taylor said rewriting sex discrimination laws to define biological sex as the one assigned at birth would be a \u201cfirst-term priority\u201d for any Coalition government, and vowed to \u201cprotect single-sex spaces across Australian life\u201d.<\/p>\n His pledge came a day after One Nation\u2019s Pauline Hanson said she would try to amend the Sex Discrimination Act to include biological definitions of women and men. On Sunday, Hanson said Liberals \u201chave always taken the side of radical trans ideology\u201d and \u201ccan\u2019t be trusted to fix it now\u201d.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s decision to weigh in on the contentious debate over gender identity is a marked departure from the stance of former opposition leader Peter Dutton, who typically avoided buying into a controversy that had proved damaging for other Liberal leaders.<\/p>\n Asked on ABC\u2019s Insiders in April 2023 where he stood on the issue, Dutton demurred, saying that he would not stand for any form of discrimination and \u201cpeople should have respect and the debate runs two ways\u201d, as feelings about the issue were very strong. Asked about any of his MPs going to anti-trans rallies, he added: \u201cI don\u2019t think MPs should be going to anti-anything rallies, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Taylor, fresh from a budget reply speech that canvassed \u201cthe biggest migrations cuts in Australian history\u201d, challenged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to weigh in on transgender rights, asking: \u201cDoes he believe women and girls deserve protections based on biological sex?\u201d<\/p>\n Nationals leader Matt Canavan also backs changes to sex discrimination laws, releasing a statement after the Federal Court handed down its finding that said: \u201cThe current law effectively prevents women and girls from having their own single sex spaces. The Nationals will fix this by supporting laws that define two biological genders, male and female, in the Sex Discrimination Act.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal government said in a statement it was \u201caware of the decision made by the Federal Court\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government believes all people are entitled to respect, dignity, and the opportunity to participate in society, free from discrimination. Four days after a reforming budget \u2026 the Liberals are choosing to demonise migrants and focus on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Human rights expert Professor Paula Gerber, from Monash University, said the decision \u201caffirms that Australia has strong legislation that protects trans people from discrimination on the basis of their gender identity\u201d and Australia was not \u201cat risk of following the path the UK has gone down<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n Albanese has been asked several times for the definition of a woman, and has replied \u201can adult female\u201d.<\/p>\n Taylor on Sunday shrugged off the defection of two high-profile Liberal women to One Nation, saying it was \u201ctheir choice\u201d after News Limited revealed former Liberal senator Hollie Hughes and former party vice-president Teena McQueen have already joined Hanson\u2019s party.<\/p>\n Hughes in 2024 accused Taylor, then shadow treasurer, of incompetence and treachery after she was pushed off the Senate ticket, and in November last year resigned from the Liberal party, saying women MPs were being used by \u201cthe boys who want a challenge but don\u2019t have the gumption to go out and say anything themselves\u201d.<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Sally](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/83f96b7392e9fbcd14ef70698a0d39eaee66e7f35dfc80e1671bc33d4f3e298c.jpeg\")
Sally Grover, founded of the Giggle app, and Roxanne Tickle, who won the discrimination case on Friday. Sam Mooy<\/p>\n![\"Roxanne](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/91a4e7f1aadc03c65fa1bf46371118aa6cff843d.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nationals](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0c44aecff0464e2954dd0953656e6332088d90e6.jpeg\")
Nationals leader Matt Canavan and Liberal leader Angus Taylor.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n