I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people, the Traditional Owners of the land we gather on today and pay my respects to Elders past and present. 

It’s a privilege to stand here with Alex Greenwich MP and so many advocates, legal professionals, and community leaders to launch the Inner City Legal Centre’s Blueprint for Equality: Resourcing LGBTQIA+ Community Legal Centres report. 

This document is a powerful roadmap for change. A call to action to make equality real for every LGBTQIA+ person in New South Wales. 

In my electorate of Summer Hill, the LGBTQIA+ community is woven into the fabric of our neighbourhoods.  
You enrich our culture, drive creativity, and strengthen our community. 

But more than that, you remind us that equality is not just a principle, it’s something we must deliver in law and in practice. 

This year, the NSW Parliament passed the Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) Bill 2023, a landmark reform that I was proud to support. 

As I said in the House, this bill does two things: It makes transformative changes for the people it directly impacts. And it sends a strong message that everyone in our community, including LGBTQIA+ people, is valued, respected, and cared for. 

The bill removed the outdated requirement for trans and gender-diverse people to undergo surgery before updating their birth certificate. It created a pathway for parentage orders for families formed through international surrogacy, added protections against being outed, strengthened hate crime laws to cover gender identity and sex characteristics, and updated language in laws affecting people living with HIV. 

These changes matter. They mean dignity, safety, and recognition for thousands of people across our state. 

But passing laws is only the first step. Rights on paper don’t automatically translate into rights in practice. For a trans person navigating the process to update their birth certificate, or a family seeking a parentage order under the new surrogacy provisions, the system can be complex and intimidating. 

I’ve seen this firsthand in Summer Hill. A young trans person in my electorate told me about the humiliation of having to prove they’d undergone surgery just to update their birth certificate, a process that involved multiple doctors and even a Justice of the Peace.  

That requirement was not only invasive and unnecessary, but it was also cruel. Removing it was vital, but now that the law has changed, people still need help to navigate the process and assert their rights. 

And then there are families formed through surrogacy. I have heard directly from my constituents the story of parents who engaged in international surrogacy years ago. 

Because counselling wasn’t common overseas at the time, they now face barriers to obtaining parentage orders, even after the Equality Act reforms. These families live in legal limbo, worried about inheritance, superannuation, and even basic recognition of both parents.  

It’s heartbreaking and it shows why legal support is critical to make these reforms work in practice.  

That’s why specialised legal services like the Inner City Legal Centre are so vital. They provide the expertise, advocacy, and support needed to help people understand and exercise their rights.  

Without services like ICLC, these reforms risk remaining theoretical rather than transformative. 

 
The Equality Blueprint for Reform makes this clear. It highlights that 60% of LGBTQIA+ people experience a legal problem each year, often related to discrimination, family law, or violence.  

It calls for: 

• Dedicated, well-resourced LGBTQIA+ legal centres across NSW, not just in the inner city. 

• Funding for outreach to regional and rural communities, where isolation and lack of access compound disadvantage. 

• Specialist training for lawyers and frontline staff to ensure culturally safe and inclusive services. 

• Integration with health and social services, so people can get holistic support when they need it most. 

These recommendations are practical and urgent. They ensure that the rights we enshrine in law, like those in the Equality Bill, can be realised in everyday life, no matter where in NSW you live. 

The work doesn’t stop here. The NSW Government is developing the state’s first LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Strategy which will be a whole-of-government commitment to embed inclusion in every service and every policy.  

What makes this progress possible is collaboration. Equality is not a partisan issue. Across this Parliament, there is strong support for reforms that protect and advance LGBTQIA+ rights. Today’s event shows what we can achieve when we work together, with community, with advocates, and across party lines. 

The Equality Blueprint for Reform is more than a document, it’s a challenge to all of us. Let’s answer that call. Let’s keep building a state where every LGBTQIA+ person can live free from discrimination and full of pride. 

Thank you.