Nationals MP for Lyne Alison Penfold has introduced a private member’s bill that would restore biologically accurate definitions of “man” and “woman” to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

In her second reading speech on May 25, she named the Australian Christian Lobby, the Human Rights Law Alliance, and HRLA principal lawyer John Steenhof as advisers on the drafting.

The Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sex-Based Rights) Bill 2026 makes explicit the biological definitions of “man” and “woman” that were removed as an effect of the 2013 amendments and replaced with the current concept of “gender identity”, having no regard to a person’s “designated sex at birth”.

The bill follows a Federal Court ruling delivered 10 days earlier. On May 15, the Full Court upheld and expanded the finding that Sall Grover had directly and indirectly discriminated against a transgender-identifying man by removing him from her women-only social media app Giggle for Girls.

The Court increased damages to $20,000 and awarded legal costs of up to $100,000 against Grover.

Penfold’s argument to the House placed the responsibility precisely:

“That is not a criticism of the court. The court interpreted the law that this parliament wrote. The fault lies here.”

That is the central legal point. The 2013 amendments drafted the Act in terms broad enough to make the Giggle outcome the predictable consequence of its own language.

When parliament writes ambiguity into discrimination law, the courts deliver the consequences, and women are so far bearing the brunt of those consequences.

Penfold named the women whose cases have made those consequences visible: Sall Grover, Dr Jillian Spencer, Louise Elliott, Jasmine Sussex and Kirralie Smith.

“These women did not seek fame. Many paid a significant personal and professional price for speaking out.”

A liberal democracy cannot function properly when ordinary people are afraid to speak plainly, or to associate freely, because the potential cost is too great. Legislative ambiguity and court decisions that emphasise discrimination rights above the rights to fundamental freedoms have increased the legal risk for all Australians.

The fault lies in parliament and so does the fix.

HRLA advised on the drafting of the Penfold bill because we see the legal consequences of bad laws for ordinary Australians. HRLA will continue to advocate for legislative reform and for all Australians who face hostility for living faithfully and speaking the truth.