If you are moving to Australia and thinking of becoming a citizen (or already are), you might want to know a little something about some changes the Aussie government is making to the passport gender options. Interestingly enough, Australian passports will soon have three gender options – male, female, and indeterminate.
The third gender option was recently added in an effort to get rid of discrimination against transgendered people. Previously, the options were just male and female – with someone allowed to change the gender indicator only after having a sex change operation.
Apparently, Australia is one of the more progressive nations when it comes to such issues. However, you can’t simply choose “indeterminate” on your passport – a doctor’s supporting statement must be provided.
Now that the new gender option is available on the Australian passport, people can travel without discrimination or unfair detentions at airports. This is something that has happened in the past when a person’s gender appearance does not match the passport’s status.
Though the United States claims to be one of the more progressive nations in social issues, it clearly is a few steps behind Australia since U.S. passports only have male and female gender statuses available. While this is a mile marker in the fight for transgendered equality, we don’t think that the new passport options will inspire more people to relocate to Australia in the near future.
However, if you are thinking of moving to Australia – for work or just for a change of pace – remember to be really sure about it. We suggest visiting Australia before relocating, to get a feel for the country and its culture. And if you love it, start planning!
Lance Grooms.