LGBTIQA+SB: Know your rights, Claim your pride
Law Talk WA is a podcast for West Australians that provides real and relevant information about legal issues in our state.
This series is about issued faced by the LGBTIQA+SB community. Each episode features conversations with a panel of experts who share their knowledge and expertise, with helpful and practical tips along the way.
If you are interested in learning more about your rights, the law in Western Australia, and where you can go for help, listen now on:
Series 5
Know your rights. Claim your pride.
Conversations about LGBTIQA+SB rights, laws and supports
On-air from Tuesday 31 March 2026
Series five of Law Talk WA explores the rights of people in the LGBTIQA+SB community - one of the groups most vulnerable to discrimination. To identify the most common and serious legal issues faced by people in this community, we consulted with Western Australia’s LGBTIQA+SB community: this input guided our decision-making around subject matter experts for our panels and broad themes to delve into.
Know your rights. Claim your pride. covers discrimination in areas such as healthcare settings, education and employment, helping identify what the laws say and, if you have been discriminated against, what steps you can take. Our experts provide answers to questions around affirming gender from both legal and medical perspectives, explore the rights of LGBTIQA+SB people in the criminal justice system and in the area of reproductive and inheritance rights, and in the final episode, focus on the supports available to LGBTIQA+SB people.
The panel discussions, practical tips, first-hand experiences and advice in this podcast series will be useful for LGBTIQA+SB people, allies, parents and guardians of young people, and carers of older LGBTIQA+SB people. Whether you’re looking to understand your rights or support someone in the community, this podcast helps make the law easier to navigate.
- Episode 1 - Wait...was that discrimination?
- Episode 2 - Facing up to discrimination - what can I do?
- Episode 3 - Gender affirmation, legally and medically speaking
- Episode 4 - Know your rights and protections
- Episode 5 - Where to find help and supports
Know your rights. Claim your pride. is hosted by Legal Aid WA, with subject matter experts from Circle Green Community Legal, Clairs Keeley Lawyers, Curae Law, the Equal Opportunity Commission WA, GLBTI Rights in Ageing (GRAI), The Kids Research Institute Australia, the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages WA, the Adult Gender Diversity Service at Royal Perth Hospital, Sussex Street Community Law Services and Youth Pride Network.
To note: the acronym we use in this series, LGBTIQA+SB, stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer or Questioning, and Asexual people, as well as Sisterboy and Brothergirl – terms used by Aboriginal communities to describe trans and gender diverse people. The “plus” is there to include other diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.
Episode 1 - Wait...was that discrimination?
Listen on 
In this first episode, we’ll be talking about discrimination and what the law says about your rights not to be discriminated against in your employment, school, university or healthcare.
More about this episode
Episode 1 is hosted by Wibke Timmermann (Lawyer, Legal Aid WA) pronouns she/her with guests:
- Tracey Hollington (Solicitor, Civil Law Division, Legal Aid WA) pronouns she/her
- Jeff Rosales-Castaneda (Legal Officer, Equal Opportunity Commission, WA) pronouns he/him/his
Episode 2 - Facing up to discrimination - what can I do?
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We continue to shine a light on discrimination against LGBTIQA+SB people in episode two, this time focussing on what you can do if you have been discriminated against, and where you can make a complaint.
More about this episode
Episode 2 is hosted by Wibke Timmermann (Lawyer, Legal Aid WA) pronouns she/her with guests:
- Tracey Hollington (Solicitor, Civil Law Division, Legal Aid WA) pronouns she/her
- Jeff Rosales-Castaneda (Legal Officer, Equal Opportunity Commission, WA) pronouns he/him/his
- Jack Farrugia (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Youth Mental Health Team, The Kids Research Institute Australia) pronouns he/him
- Shelley Dewrance (Secretary, Youth Pride Network) pronouns - any
Episode 3 - Gender affirmation, legally and medically speaking
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In this episode we discuss how to affirm your gender, legally and medically. We offer tips in terms of practical guidance, psychological and other supports - including where to access information and organisations that can help.
We also discuss the new laws that recently came into force abolishing the Gender Reassignment Board.
More about this episode
Episode 3 is hosted by Wibke Timmermann (Lawyer, Legal Aid WA) pronouns she/her with guests:
- Alison Jackson (Registrar, Births, Deaths and Marriages WA) pronouns she/her
- Curtis Ward (Principal, Clairs Keeley Lawyers) pronouns he/him
- Georgia Williams (Senior Clinical Psychologist, Adult Gender Diversity Service, Royal Perth Hospital) pronouns they/them
Episode 4 - Know your rights and protections
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In episode four we look at your rights. We start off with your rights when interacting with the criminal justice system, where LGBTIQA+SB people - and especially trans people - are particularly vulnerable in situations of detention.
We also answer questions relating to intimate partner violence and Family Violence Restraining Orders, as well as questions for de facto LGBTIQA+SB couples around inheritance rights and reproductive rights, and explain your rights in keeping your identity private.
More about this episode
Episode 4 is hosted by Wibke Timmermann (Lawyer, Legal Aid WA) pronouns she/her with guests:
- Michael Cherry (Solicitor, Sussex Street Community Law Services) pronouns he/him
- Sarah Pickles (Lawyer & Specialist Lead, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) claims Humanitarian team, Circle Green Community Legal) pronouns she/her
- Frances Allam (Managing Solicitor, Criminal Law projects, Legal Aid WA) pronouns she/her
- Curtis Ward (Principal, Clairs Keeley Lawyers) pronouns he/him
- Nigel Siewart (Director, Curae Law) pronouns he/him
Episode 5 - Where to find help and supports
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With LGBTIQA+SB people experiencing homelessness at more than twice the rate of the general Australian population, we discuss how you can find safe accommodation services for LGBTIQA+SB people, how to rebuild your life after losing your home, and where to find help to access social supports.
We offer helpful information and practical advice for issues faced in particular by older LGBTIQA+SB people, and at the other end of the spectrum, for issues frequently encountered by young LGBTIQA+SB people as well as their parents and guardians.
More about this episode
Episode 5 is hosted by Wibke Timmermann (Lawyer, Legal Aid WA) pronouns she/her with guests:
- Kedy Kristal (Executive Officer, GLBTI Rights in Ageing (GRAI)) pronouns she/her
- Jack Farrugia (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Youth Mental Health Team, The Kids Research Institute Australia) pronouns he/him
- Shelley Dewrance (Secretary, The Kids Research Institute Australia) pronouns - any
- Azeem Lamat (Disability Advocate, Sussex Street Community Law Services) pronouns he/him
The Know your rights. Claim your pride. series of Law Talk WA is brought to you by:
More information
To find more information on this topic visit the LGBTIQA+ page or use the search function at the top of this page to search for specific issues.
Get help
You can get help by:
- contacting the Legal Aid WA Infoline on 1800 650 579 or Legal Yarn telephone line on 1800 319 803 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander callers,
- contacting QLife on 1800 184 527 or via webchat at qlife.org.au,
- contacting the Mental Health Emergency Response Line on 1300 555 788 (Perth) or 1800 676 822 (Peel region),
contacting Crisis Care on 1800 199 008, - by contacting your nearest Community Legal Centre. You can find your nearest specialist Community Legal Centre on the Community Legal WA website: www.communitylegalwa.org.au,
- contacting a Financial Counsellor. You can find your nearest Financial Counsellor via the National Debt Helpline website, or
- calling Beyond Blue’s free telephone counselling service on 1300 224 636 or chatting to a counsellor online at beyondblue.org.au.