Lesbian group say they have legal right to ban trans women to stop discrimination

"Under the Australian state's 2010 Equal Opportunity Act, the state of Victoria can grant temporary exemptions to anti-discrimination laws if it can be proved that the exclusion would "help the act's goal of promoting equal opportunity" and the proposed action was "a reasonable limitation on the right to equality set out in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities"."

"At the time, the LAG's request was condemned by other lesbian organisations, with Dykes on Bikes describing it as "nothing more than dangerous transphobic rhetoric and hate, causing harm and creating division when we should be united"."

"In the end, the human rights commission ruled against the group on the basis that granting the exemption could lead to further exclusion of, and discrimination against, transgender women."

Victoria's Lesbian Action Group sought a five-year exemption under the Equal Opportunity Act to hold events exclusively for "lesbians born female." The Australian Human Rights Commission denied this request, ruling that granting the exemption could lead to discrimination against transgender women. The group appealed through a tribunal, which upheld the original decision, and is now pursuing an appeal in Federal Court. Other lesbian organizations, including Dykes on Bikes, opposed the request as transphobic rhetoric. Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act allows temporary exemptions if exclusions promote equal opportunity and constitute reasonable limitations on equality rights, though the commission determined this case did not meet those criteria.

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