Western Australia’s Attorney General Dr Tony Buti has committed to introduce legislation that will ban conversion therapy practices in Western Australia before the end of the year.
Alongside Tasmania and the Northern Territory, Western Australia, is one of the few jurisdictions in Australia where conversion therapy and other practices remain legal.
Today is the inaugural International Day to End Conversion Therapy (IDECT), a global day of awareness, remembrance, and action dedicated to ending practices that attempt to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Speaking to OUTinPerth Attorney General Dr Tony Buti said the government would be taking action on the issue before the end of the year.
“Conversion practices that are used to attempt to suppress or change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity are not therapeutic and they cause mental health harm to LGBTIQA+ people.
“The Cook Labor Government is committed to banning LGBTIQA+ conversion practices.” Dr Buti said.
“We are continuing to engage with stakeholders on the drafting of reforms to criminalise conversion therapy and introduce a complementary civil response scheme that will provide an alternative for survivors where evidence of harm does not meet the criminal threshold, or the victim-survivor does not want to go through criminal proceedings.”
Dr Buti said the legislation is expected to be introduced into parliament in 2026.
“Legislation to criminalise this outdated and harmful practice, and bring in the civil scheme, is expected to be introduced to the Western Australian Parliament in 2026.” he said.
Survivors of the practice highlight the harm caused
The new awareness day brings together survivors, advocates, and allies worldwide to acknowledge the harm caused by so-called conversion ‘therapy’ and to call for its permanent end. The day was established by C.T. Survivors Connect (Canada) in partnership with the Conversion Therapy Survivor Network (United States).
While IDECT originated in North America, Australian based, Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International (ABBI) has joined survivor-led organisations globally in highlighting the day’s deep relevance to Australia.
“International Day to End Conversion Therapy exists because the harm is real, ongoing, and too often invisible,” said Anthony Venn-Brown OAM, Founder and CEO of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International.
“This day is about survivors being seen, believed, and protected — not just remembered.”
The long-term advocate against the practice said all Australians deserve the same level of protection.
“Where you live in Australia should not determine whether you are protected from harm,” Venn-Brown said. “Until there is a consistent national approach, survivors will continue to fall through the cracks.”
All major mental health organisations agree that attempts to make non-heterosexual people straight or gender-conforming are ineffective and harmful — sometimes with tragic outcomes. Survivors in Australia continue to report being told they are broken or sinful, pressured into prayer or counselling, and experiencing long-term psychological harm, trauma, and isolation.
“Legislation alone does not change beliefs,” Venn-Brown said. “That’s why survivor voices, education, and cultural change are just as important as laws.”
Western Australia has been looking at bringing in legislation for a long time
Labor promised to bring in the legislation back in 2022 following a parliamentary inquiry into the operations of Esther House, but now Premier Roger Cook first made a commitment to look into the issue when he was Health Minister back in 2017.
In 2024 the Cook government said it had run out of time to address the issue during its second term of government, but was committed to bringing in the legislation if reelected in 2025, but there was no legislation forthcoming in 2025.
The report into the activities at Perth’s religious based facility Esther House highlighted Western Australia’s lack of legislation specifically outlawing conversion practices and suppression practices that aim to change a person’s sexuality or gender.
Last year Medical Journal Australia published a new analysis of a study they published back in 1987. The report from Dr Robert Kosky reported that eight children who were removed from their families for long stretches and treated in a Perth hospital facility located at Stubbs Terrace reportedly ceased expressing gender behaviour that did not align with their birth gender.
The paper argues that the patients gender dysphoria was a result of poor family dynamics, and it could be corrected during a long hospital stay. Upon the release of the report the government said it was confident that similar practices were not being used in government facilities today.
Brian Greig from rights group Just.Equal told OUTinPerth that the government’s long delays on tackling the issue were unacceptable.
“There are no valid excuses for this delay. The government did not ‘run out of time’, it simply gave the issue no priority.” he said.
“WA and Tasmania are the last two states to address this issue, and I note that the Andrews’ Labor Government in Victoria passed the world’s best legislation to ban conversion practices in February 2022. They did that in much less time than the Cook Government has spent on consultations alone – and which inexplicably remain ongoing.
Greig said there also needed to be an acknowledgement that a lot of the conversion therapy practices that have occurred have been within a religious setting.
“It is also disingenuous for the government to assure our community that there is currently no conversion practices allowed within the medical system, because that only ever accounted for around 10 percent of cases. The real harm is being done in religious settings, not medical settings, and that is where the urgency of law reform is needed.
“Banning conversion practices isn’t rocket science. Most people acknowledge the superiority of the Victorian legislation. All the Cook Government needs to do is cut-and-paste that Bill and apply it locally. I urge Labor to stop this procrastination and pass the necessary legislation before Pridefest in November.”
Rainbow Futures CEO Dr Misty Farquhar said it was essential the government progressed the proposed legislation.
“We know that conversion practices are still happening today, in both religious and non-religious settings. We also know that dangerous notions of suppressing, changing or “correcting” sexuality and gender carry long-term consequences for people subject to these practices.
“The Government must follow through on their repeated promises and actually deliver long awaited legislation to ban conversion practices in WA and resource survivor supports. Rainbow Futures and Ending Conversion Practices WA call for legislation with no loopholes for medical professionals, that empowers accessible reporting and provides protections from further harm.” Dr Farquhar said.
Conversion therapy legislation is just one of a series of LGBTIQA+ related reforms that have progressed slowly
As the government celebrated the changes to the surrogacy laws flanked by leading LGBTIQA+ organisations late last year Health Minister Meredith Hammat acknowledged that community members were frustrated by the speed of the government’s progress on surrogacy laws and other issues.
“With these laws in particular, there was a very comprehensive process.” Hammat said in response to the government taking many years to progress the reforms. “We understand the frustration people felt through those delays. But what I would say, is that it is Labor governments that are committed to making these legislative changes, to having a legislative agenda that is about removing discrimination and ensuring that people can access the services regardless of who they are.”
