LGBT rights in New South Wales
| LGBT rights in New South Wales | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Same-sex sexual activity legal? | Always legal for women; legal for men since 1984 |
| Gender identity/expression | Change of sex requires sexual reassignment surgery and no subsisting marriage |
| Discrimination protections | Yes, in NSW since 1983; federally since 2013 |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships |
Domestic partnership registries, since 2010; recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions since 2014 |
|
Restrictions:
|
Same-sex marriage prohibited under federal law since 2004; see History of same-sex marriage in Australia |
| Adoption | Yes, since 2010 |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the Australian state of New South Wales have most of the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexuals.
Private consensual sex between men has been legal in New South Wales since 1984, while lesbian sexual acts have never been criminalised. The age of consent for all forms of sex was equalised in 2003.
Homosexuality was criminalised in New South Wales under section 79 of the Crimes Act 1900 (consent provisions were dealt with in section 78) which stated thus: "Whosoever commits the abominable crime of buggery, or bestiality, with mankind, or with any animal, shall be liable to imprisonment for fourteen years." In 1951, with the support of Police Commissioner Colin Delaney, who was noted for his obsession against homosexuality, Attorney General Reg Downing moved an amendment to the Act to ensure that "buggery" remained a criminal act "with or without the consent of the person", removing the previously existing legal loophole of consent.
The Campaign Against Moral Persecution, also known as C.A.M.P., was founded in Sydney in September 1970 and was one of Australia's first gay rights organisations. C.A.M.P. raised the profile and acceptance of Australia's gay and lesbian communities.
On 24 June 1978 gay rights activists in Sydney staged a morning protest march and commemoration of the Stonewall Riots which took place in New York in June 1969. Although the organisers had obtained permission, this was revoked, and the march was broken up by the police. Fifty-three of the marchers were arrested. Although most charges were eventually dropped, the Sydney Morning Herald published the names of those arrested in full, leading to many people being outed to their friends and places of employment, and many of those arrested lost their jobs as homosexuality was a crime in New South Wales until 1984. The event was held each year thereafter and is now known as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2008. Following the first parade, New South Wales saw dozens of gay-hate murders from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, of which 30 remain unsolved. The prevailing climate of homophobia and lack of trust between the LGBT community and the police hampered the resolution of these cases.
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