Norrie v Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages (GD)

The case of Norrie v Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages involves an appeal by the appellant against the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The dispute pertains to the interpretation of the term "change of sex" within the context of the Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act. The appellant sought to have their sex on their birth certificate amended from "male" to "not specified". The Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, however, argued that under the Act, sex could only be changed from "male" to "female" or from "female" to "male". The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia heard the appeal and was tasked with determining the correct interpretation of the relevant statutory provision.

The central legal issue that the court had to decide was whether the term "change of sex" in the Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act permits a change from "male" to "not specified" or if it is limited to a change from "male" to "female" or from "female" to "male". The appellant argued that the term should be interpreted in a way that allows for a more flexible understanding of sex, thereby permitting a change to "not specified". Conversely, the Registrar contended that the statutory language only supports binary changes in sex, and that the term "change of sex" should be interpreted strictly to mean a change from male to female or female to male.

In reaching its decision, the court closely examined the statutory language and considered the ordinary and grammatical meaning of the term "change of sex". The court held that the term was to be interpreted in its ordinary and grammatical sense, which does not include a change to "not specified". The court found that the plain meaning of the statutory language indicated that a change of sex is only recognised when it is from male to female or from female to male. Consequently, the court upheld the decision of the AAT and dismissed the appellant's application for leave to appeal on the merits of the Tribunal's decision. The court affirmed the Tribunal's determination that the appellant's sex could not be changed to "not specified" under the Act.