Government lawyers in Western Australia have won an appeal against the transfer of a transgender inmate from a men’s prison to a women’s institution.
The prisoner, known only as “SD”, was incarcerated as a man and transitioned to a woman while behind bars. Her sex was later officially changed to female under the now-rescinded Gender Reassignment Act.
SD, who is serving a long sentence and has reportedly become a target for physical violence, had sought a move to a women’s prison on safety grounds. The State Administrative Tribunal approved the transfer, prompting the Department of Justice to appeal.
On Friday, a Supreme Court judge ruled that the department must recognise SD’s gender as female on all its internal systems. However, the judge confirmed that prisoners do not have a right to choose where they are held, regardless of their gender.
SD cannot be publicly identified, and the nature of the crime for which she was imprisoned has not been disclosed.
The legal dispute is expected to continue, with SD preparing to take her case to the Equal Opportunity Commission in an effort to secure a transfer to a women’s institution.
The case is not the first of its kind in Western Australia. Earlier in 2026, a biological man accused of domestic violence against a female partner was sent to Bandyup Women’s Prison.
