This article applies to health services and medical practitioners in Victoria.
Health Safeguards for People Born with Variations in Sex Characteristics Bill 2026 (Vic)
On 19 February 2026, the Health Safeguards for People Born with Variations in Sex Characteristics Bill 2026 (Vic) (the Bill) passed the Victorian Parliament and is currently awaiting Royal Assent. The Bill will commence on a day or days to be proclaimed, but no later than 1 December 2028.
Operationally Significant Changes
The Bill establishes a legal framework for the provision of restricted medical treatments to applicable persons.
An applicable person is a person who has an innate variation in sex characteristics, meaning a congenital condition that involves atypical sex characteristics of the person.
A restricted medical treatment is medical treatment that:
- permanently changes an applicable person’s sex characteristics;
- makes changes to an applicable person’s sex characteristics that are reversible only by further medical treatment; or
- changes an applicable person’s sex characteristics and is prescribed by the legislation to be a restricted medical treatment.
Medical treatment includes a surgical procedure and the prescription or administration of a drug.
The most significant elements of the new framework (from an operational perspective) will include:
- processes for medical practitioners to determine whether an applicable person has capacity to give informed consent for a restricted medical treatment, and to obtain informed consent from the applicable person or their medical decision maker;
- a requirement to obtain approved treatment plans in the case of applicable persons determined not to have capacity to give informed consent;
- the establishment of the Restricted Medical Treatment Oversight Panel to assess and approve applications for treatment plans; and
- an offence of providing restricted medical treatment to an applicable person who does not have capacity to give informed consent, in the absence of an approved treatment plan.
Further Information
Informed consent processes
Before providing restricted medical treatment to an applicable person, section 10 of the Bill will first require a registered medical practitioner to determine whether the person has capacity to give informed consent to the treatment. Section 5 sets out the matters that must be considered in determining capacity to give informed consent.
If the medical practitioner determines that the person has capacity to give informed consent to the treatment, they must then seek and obtain informed consent from the person, following the procedures set out in section 11.
If the medical practitioner determines that the person does not have capacity to give informed consent to the treatment, that person is deemed a protected person and in order to proceed with the treatment the practitioner must:
- seek and obtain informed consent to the treatment from at least one medical decision maker of the protected person, following the procedures set out in section 11 including giving the protected person a reasonable opportunity to communicate their wishes; and
- obtain an approved treatment plan with respect to the treatment.
Treatment plans
Part 5 of the Bill establishes the Restricted Medical Treatment Oversight Panel (the Panel) which, amongst other things, has the function of determining applications for treatment plans.
There are two types of treatment plans that can be applied for:
- a general treatment plan, which is a plan for the treatment of a class of protected person using restricted medical treatment; and
- an individual treatment plan, which is a plan for the treatment of a specific protected person using restricted medical treatment.
A registered medical practitioner must not apply for an individual treatment plan unless at least one medical treatment decision maker for the protected person has consented to the application being made.
The Panel can approve a treatment plan with or without conditions. Approval from the Panel is also required to amend or revoke a treatment plan.
Offence to provide restricted medical treatment to applicable person without capacity to give informed consent or approved treatment plan
Section 7 of the Bill will prohibit the provision of restricted medical treatment to an applicable person by a person knowing or reckless as to whether the applicable person has capacity to give informed consent to the treatment. Non-compliance will be an offence subject to a maximum penalty of 2 years’ imprisonment or 240 penalty units (currently $48,842.40). There will be an exception for when a registered medical practitioner reasonably believes that the restricted medical treatment is urgently necessary to save the person’s life, prevent serious damage to the person’s health, or to relieve or prevent significant pain or distress for the person.
Section 9 of the Bill provides that a person does not commit an offence under section 7 if the person is a registered medical practitioner who provides the restricted medical treatment in accordance with an approved treatment plan.
Other decision-making and reporting requirements
Section 6 of the Bill sets out five general principles that must be considered in interpreting the new framework, being, bodily integrity; children’s agency; precaution; medical necessity, and independent oversight.
Finally, section 54 of the Bill will require organisations that employ or engage registered medical practitioners who provide restricted medical treatments to submit a report to the Panel each financial year, that includes the details of any restricted medical treatments provided to applicable persons that year.
Please click here to access the full Bill.
