Roxanne Tickle has spoken about yesterday’s High Court decision that brought an end to her long-running discrimination case and provided further clarity about how protections for transgender and gender-diverse people are interpreted under Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act.
“It’s been nearly five years since I lodged my discrimination complaint. It’s been a relentlessly exhausting time, both physically and emotionally, for me and many others,” Tickle said in a statement to OUTinPerth.
“I hope that yesterday’s High Court special leave refusal provides clarity to the protections in law for transgender and gender-diverse people in Australia, and perhaps provides a beacon of light to the rest of the world.
“I wish my trans and gender-diverse siblings, as well as their loved ones, much hope and love for their collective futures. May we all learn that just being different is not grounds for you to be ridiculed, attacked, feared or hated, but that instead you are providing a little something extra to the world.
“Life is not easy. Let’s all be kinder to each other and we might all enjoy it a little more,” Tickle said.
On Thursday, the High Court of Australia refused to hear the appeal in the long-running Giggle v Tickle case, bringing the legal dispute to an end and leaving the Full Federal Court’s interpretation of the law undisturbed.
Sall Grover, founder of the now-defunct social media app Giggle for Girls, had sought special leave to appeal in the discrimination case brought against her and her company by Tickle.
Grover had already lost the case in the Federal Court in August 2024, which found that Tickle had been indirectly discriminated against under Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act after she was removed from the app in 2020. The platform had been marketed as a space for women to connect. The court ordered that Tickle be paid $10,000 in compensation, in addition to substantial legal costs.
In August 2025, the matter returned to court when both parties appealed aspects of the original decision by Justice Robert Bromwich. The Full Court upheld the original finding of indirect discrimination and additionally found that direct discrimination had occurred, increasing the damages award to $20,000.
Some legal observers had expected the High Court to grant special leave to appeal, making yesterday’s decision a significant development in the case.
Grover has subsequently announced that she will leave Australia and revive her company in a different jurisdiction. Federal Liberal leader Angus Taylor has also commented on the court’s decision, describing the Sex Discrimination Act as “ludicrous”. Taylor has vowed to change the law if he wins government at the next federal election.
