No bad-faith exemptions: a submission to the NSW Government on banning LGBTQ+ conversion practices

We thank the NSW Government for affording an opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed LGBTQ+ Conversion Practices Ban and Banning LGBTQ+ Conversion Practices (consultation paper). We support the symbolic value and overall concept of a ban.

However, we highlight for the NSW Government core approaches and components to consider in formulating its legislative intervention, particularly the importance of ensuring educative and transformative approaches are centred in proposed legislation rather than purely punitive elements. This advice is based on our collective knowledge of relevant research, legislative models, survivor recommendations and community goals, as well as our team’s substantial experience working with government, bill writers, and political advisors in Victoria, the ACT, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Scotland, and Tasmania.

We make this submission to you in our roles as academic research and community experts in LGBTIQ+ policy issues and, as is the case for most of us, as survivors of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Change Efforts (SOGIECE)/ conversion practices. For those of us who are academic researchers in universities, please note that this submission may not necessarily represent the diverse views of our host institutions, their staff and attendees.