On 2 May 2019, the LGBTIQ Justice Working Group held its ninth meeting.
The list of members, terms of reference and communiques are available.
Representatives from the Independent Review of Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART Review) attended to provide Working Group members with an opportunity to ask any questions about the ART Review Final Report. The ART Review focuses on the Victorian regulatory framework for assisted reproductive treatment.
More information about the ART Review (External link) is available.
The ART Review’s Interim Report was published in October 2018 and representatives from the ART Review attended the Working Group meeting in September 2018 to consult members on the Interim Report.
The Review Team reported back on how consultation had informed both the Interim and Final Reports of the ART Review. Working Group members acknowledged that the consultation process had been very thorough and congratulated the team behind the ART Review on their work.
The ART Review's Final Report is being submitted to the Minister for Health in May 2019.
Representatives from the Victorian Pride Centre (VPC) attended to provide an overview of the VPC and seek feedback from Working Group members on how the VPC can best meet the needs of LGBTIQ communities. The VPC will be an inclusive space which will house LGBTIQ organisations while also providing flexible and multi-use spaces, a health service, training room, meeting rooms, a reflection room, café/bar, theatrette and gallery. The VPC is due to open in mid-2020.
The 2015 Victorian Government Access to Justice Review recommended the inclusion of legal triage and services in the proposed Pride Centre, in order to provide tailored and specialist legal information, education, referrals, and legal advice to LGBTIQ people and to deliver LGBTIQ cultural competency training to legal service providers. Working Group members discussed possible options for implementing this recommendation and agreed to set up a working group to scope a service model.
Working Group members also discussed matters relating to:
- the re-introduction of amendments to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996 to remove barriers for people who seek to alter the sex recorded in their birth registration
- the development of new legislation to prohibit conversion practices, together with research and educational work underway by the Government to tackle conversion practices
- the review of funding agreements to ensure that services funded by the government are delivered in a non-discriminatory way, in particular to LGBTIQ Victorians.
The Working Group will next meet on Monday 17 June 2019.
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