The Western Australian government has launched an emergency legal bid to prevent a transgender prisoner serving a lengthy sentence from being moved to a women’s prison.
The government’s lawyers have gone to the Supreme Court to prevent the transfer after the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) ruled that the prisoner had the right to move to a female facility. The tribunal ordered the government to transfer the prisoner while she pursues a discrimination complaint before the Equal Opportunity Commission.
The news was first reported by Ben Harvey at The West Australian.
A decision on whether the SAT ruling can be set aside while the government pursues an appeal is expected from Supreme Court Justice Craig Bydder on Friday afternoon.
The identity of the prisoner has not been made public for safety reasons, and a suppression order prevents media organisations from publishing details of the offence for which she was convicted, other than that she is serving an extraordinarily long sentence.
She officially changed her gender on her birth certificate through an application to the now-defunct Gender Reassignment Board.
Government lawyers argued that if the prisoner were transferred to a women’s facility, she would need to be housed separately and spend significant periods confined to her cell. They said this would disrupt prison operations and place additional demands on staff.
The government also argued that it could be emotionally difficult for the prisoner if she were transferred to a women’s facility and later required to return to a men’s prison should her Equal Opportunity Commission case be unsuccessful.
The prisoner’s legal team, led by Liam Nicholls, said their client accepted that possibility but maintained that she would be safer in a women’s facility.
“There is clear evidence that (our client) has been the victim of serious sexual and violent offending,” Nicholls said.
“Horrible violence has been inflicted on her in a male prison by men, and that will stop if she is transferred.”
There are no laws overtly requiring prisoners to be housed a prison aligning with their sex or gender identity. The decision on which prison a prisoner is housed at lies at the discretion of the Department of Corrections.
Rainbow Futures WA, the state’s peak body for the LGBTIQA+ communities has commented on the case saying the state has a responsibility to ensure a safe environment for all prisoners.
“The state has not protected her, and she continues to be at risk in her current environment. Her conviction does not make her abuse acceptable, and it does not make the state’s obligation to her safety any less real.” the group said is a social media post.
“Yet the state argues that she has no rights to preserve, that it does not have a duty to prevent harm to her, and that compensation after serious harm has occurred is an adequate response.”
Update: 10:35 24-07-2026 Comment from Rainbow Futures added.
