NSW Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages v Norrie

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages (the Registrar) against a decision of the Full Federal Court concerning the registration of a person's sex. The case involved Norrie May-Welby (Norrie), who sought to have their sex recorded as 'non-specific' on their birth certificate. The Registrar had refused this request, leading to the legal dispute.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Registrar had the power to record a sex other than 'male' or 'female' on a birth certificate, and if so, under what circumstances. This involved an interpretation of the relevant provisions of the *Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995* (NSW) and the common law principles relating to the determination of sex. The Court also had to consider the implications of the *Sex Discrimination Act 1984* (Cth) and the constitutional validity of any such registration.

The High Court, in a joint judgment by French CJ and Gageler J, held that the Registrar did have the power to record a sex other than male or female on a birth certificate. Their Honours reasoned that the common law recognised that a person's sex was not necessarily confined to male or female, and that the *Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995* (NSW) did not restrict the Registrar to only these two categories. The Court found that the Registrar had a discretion to record a sex that was neither male nor female, provided there was sufficient evidence to support such a classification. The appeal was dismissed.