By Christine Chen
SYDNEY, May 15 (Reuters) - An Australian court upheld a landmark decision for a transgender woman on Friday, ruling that her exclusion from a female-only app because she appeared to be a man amounted to an act of discrimination.
The Full Federal Court of Australia also doubled damages against the Giggle for Girls app and its founder and CEO, Sall Grover, saying that the blocking of transgender woman Roxanne Tickle's account was direct discrimination. A lower court found in 2024 that it was an act of indirect discrimination.
Both findings have been hailed as groundbreaking decisions on gender identity and transgender rights in Australia.
"I'm very pleased by the outcome of my case, and I hope that it assists trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones to heal," Tickle told reporters outside the courthouse.
"I've brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave and that you can stand up for yourself. In the process, I surprised myself at how brave I could be," she said.
TRANS PROTECTIONS AFFIRMED
Lawyers for Grover did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Grover, in posts on X, said she was "devastated" by the ruling, but flagged she would appeal to the High Court, Australia's top court.
Australia's Sex Discrimination Act prohibits providers of goods or services from discriminating against people on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and marital status. Tickle's case was the first to legally test the gender identity protections, which were added in 2013.
The court's decision represents a significant affirmation of protections for trans people, said Alice Taylor, an assistant professor of law at Bond University.
The court has made clear that the law "is intended to eliminate discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and that this protection should be applied as broadly as possible," she said.
Tickle, who was born male but is recognised as female in an updated birth certificate following gender-affirming surgery, was blocked because Grover reviewed her photograph, a requirement upon registration, and concluded she was a man.
Grover has maintained that Tickle is a man, arguing sex at birth is immutable and unlawful discrimination did not occur. The Federal Court in 2024 found that "sex is changeable".
Grover appealed and Tickle also cross-appealed, seeking a declaration of direct discrimination and greater damages.
In a summary judgment read in court, Justice Melissa Perry said Giggle and Grover had treated Tickle "less favourably than a woman designated female at birth." All three judges hearing the case ruled that there had been direct discrimination.
Giggle and Grover have been ordered to pay Tickle A$20,000 ($14,350) as well as her legal costs up to A$100,000.
($1 = 1.3926 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
