LGBT rights in Queensland
| LGBT rights in Queensland | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Same-sex sexual activity legal? | Always legal for women; legal since 1990 for men Equal age of consent since 2016 |
| Gender identity/expression | Change of sex marker on birth certificate requires divorce if married and sexual reassignment surgery |
| Discrimination protections | Yes, since 2002 under state law and 2013 under federal law |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships |
De facto relationships since 2002; Civil partnerships offered between February–June 2012 and since April 2016 |
|
Restrictions:
|
Same-sex marriage expressly prohibited by federal law since 2004; see History of same-sex marriage in Australia |
| Adoption | Full LGBT adoption rights since 2016 |
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) residents in the Australian state of Queensland have improved from the late 20th century onwards, similarly to LGBT rights in Australia more broadly. Private consensual sex between men has been legal in the state since 1990, while lesbian sexual acts were never criminalised. The age of consent is 16 for all sexual acts since 2016. Sexuality and gender identity are protected attributes under both Queensland and federal Australian anti-discrimination laws. Same-sex partners may be recognised as a de facto couple or may enter into a civil partnership under state law, but federal law restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples. Queensland law allows same-sex couples to become parents through adoption, foster care, altruistic surrogacy and, for lesbian couples, IVF. In March 2017, the gay panic defence was abolished. Transgender and intersex Queenslanders can also change their legally assigned gender on government records and obtain a new birth certificate reflecting this, but activists have called for the requirements that applicants must divorce if married and undergo sexual reassignment surgery to be abolished.
LGBT rights have been politically polarised - the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party supported the decriminalisation of homosexual sex and anti-discrimination protections as early as 1981 and have introduced various legal reforms when in power, while the socially conservative Liberal National Party of Queensland and its predecessor the National Party has traditionally been more hostile. Queensland has historically been Australia's most conservative state, particularly in the decentralised regions to the north and west of the metropolitan south-east corner, but the impact of social conservatism on Queensland politics and laws has gradually declined. The highest proportion of Queensland same-sex couples are concentrated in Brisbane's inner-city suburbs, with the top three being New Farm, Fortitude Valley and Teneriffe.
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