- Published:
- Friday 21 November 2025 at 10:00 am
Victoria has become the first state in Australia to make it free for trans and gender diverse people to update their gender on their birth certificate following regulation changes made by the Allan Labor Government.
Minister for Government Services Natalie Hutchins today announced updates to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act (Fees) Regulations 2019 – making it free to update a record of sex on a birth certificate.
Previously, trans Victorians paid $140.40 to be issued a new birth certificate while people born outside Victoria paid $122 for a recognised details certificate. These fees have now been abolished.
In line with existing fee waiver policy, applications to change a name at the same time as a record of sex change will also be free, and certificate postage within Australia will be waived.
Birth certificates are an important identity document used when enrolling for study, opening bank accounts, applying for a drivers licence or passport, or accessing government services – yet only one third of trans and gender Victorians currently hold identity documents that reflect who they are.
By making it free, the Government is making sure cost is never a barrier to a person having an identity document that reflects who they are.
Following changes to the law in 2020, Victorians do not need to undergo surgery to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate.
The announcement follows Trans Awareness Week and Trans Day of Remembrance, acknowledging the achievements and challenges facing trans and gender diverse Australians.
For more information about how to change a record of sex, visit bdm.vic.gov.au/change-record-sex.
Quote attributable to Minister for Government Services Natalie Hutchins
“We’re making sure money isn’t an obstacle for trans and gender diverse people to have documents that reflect who they really are.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Equality Vicki Ward
“This is an important step forward for our trans and gender diverse communities – an empowering measure that provides fair and proper legal recognition of their lived identity.”