Women Speak Tasmania has lodged a formal submission to the Department of State Growth on the draft Tasmanian Women and Girls Sport Strategy 2025–2032: “She Moves. She Leads. She Belongs.”
We have also copied to the Minister for Sport, Hon. Nick Duigan, to ensure this vital issue receives the highest level of attention.
Standing for Fairness, Safety, and Truth in Women’s Sport
Women Speak Tasmania welcomes the State Government’s commitment to increasing participation and leadership opportunities for women and girls. However, our submission raises serious concerns that the current draft strategy risks undermining the very group it intends to support — females.
The draft’s reliance on vague “gender” language, rather than clear sex-based definitions, threatens fairness, privacy, and safety in women’s and girls’ sport. Without recognising biological sex as the basis for female categories and facilities, the strategy cannot meaningfully advance equality for women.
Key Issues Raised
- No Sex-Based Definition of ‘Women’ and ‘Girls’
The strategy’s failure to define “women” and “girls” in biological terms risks erasing the sex-based focus necessary to address the real barriers females face. - Loss of Female-Only Facilities
Privacy and safety must not be sacrificed. The strategy must guarantee female-only changing rooms and toilets, with additional private or unisex options for others. - Fairness in Competition
Women’s sporting categories exist for a reason. Section 42 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) permits sex-based sporting categories where strength, stamina, or physique are relevant — and these legal protections must be upheld. - Representation in Governance
The proposed “implementation group” must include women’s rights and child-safeguarding organisations to ensure accountability and prevent ideological capture. - International Human Rights Alignment
The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, Reem Alsalem (A/79/325), has warned that allowing males in female sport constitutes a form of discrimination and potential violence. Tasmania should lead by aligning its strategy with these international standards.
Why This Matters
Tasmania has a unique opportunity to lead the nation in creating a sports strategy that is inclusive, evidence-based, and sex-realistic — one that protects women’s rights without erasing them.
A truly fair and empowering sports system must acknowledge biological reality while providing respectful solutions for all participants.
Our submission calls on the Tasmanian Government to:
- Define women and girls as biological females;
- Protect female-only facilities;
- Maintain sex-based sporting categories; and
- Include women’s safeguarding voices in policy implementation.
A Call for Leadership
Tasmania can show Australia what genuine equality looks like — one grounded in fairness, safety, and respect for women’s sex-based rights.
We thank the Department of State Growth for the opportunity to contribute and urge the Government to ensure this strategy truly serves the interests of women and girls.