NSW tribunal awards $35k to worker forced to reveal birth names
NSW court awards $35,000 to transgender worker forced to reveal birth names to colleagues.
A NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal awarded a transgender social worker $35,000. NSW Health had forced him to disclose his birth names to a colleague.
The man changed his first and middle names from female to male names when he transitioned in 2012. The man didn't know all internal job applicants faced a "Former Name Check Condition".
In June 2023, a colleague called asking him to confirm his dead names. He had kept these names private, even from his wife's parents.
The tribunal ruled this caused "indirect transgender discrimination". The disclosure put him at genuine risk of being outed as transgender in his workplace.
He told the court it left him feeling "humiliated". It caused mental health problems including difficulty breathing and panic attacks.
NSW Health discloses former names only when legally required. This happens for police checks and working-with-children clearances, not for internal transfers.
- $35,000
- Award amount
- June 2023
- Disclosure date
- NSW Health
- Employer
- 2012
- Transition year
Why it mattersThe ruling shows employers cannot expose transgender workers' former identities without clear warning and consent. This applies even during internal processes.
AustraliaThe decision sets an Australian precedent for workplace discrimination protections for transgender employees in the public sector.
Corroborated byperthnow.com.au
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 6 d ago
