Federal court affirms an August 2024 finding that Tickle was discriminated against on the basis of her gender identity and awards her $20,000Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newslett
Roxanne Tickle leaves the federal court in Sydney on Friday.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters View image in fullscreen Roxanne Tickle leaves the federal court in Sydney on Friday.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters Giggle for Girls app discriminated against trans woman Roxanne Tickle, appeal judge rules when doubling damages Federal court affirms an August 2024 finding that Tickle was discriminated against on the basis of her gender identity and awards her $20,000 Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The federal court has upheld a landmark decision that found a women-only social media app and its founder unlawfully discriminated against Roxanne Tickle after the transgender woman was denied access to the platform.
In their judgment on Friday, justices Melissa Perry, Wendy Abraham and Geoffrey Kennett affirmed an August 2024 finding that Tickle was discriminated against on the basis of her gender identity, and also sided with Tickle’s cross appeal, claiming she experienced two instances of direct discrimination by the Giggle for Girls app and its founder Sall Grover.
The app and Grover had challenged Justice Robert Bromwich’s milestone decision which found they had indirectly discriminated against Tickle when she was barred from the platform because they thought she was a man.
Australian lesbian group’s fight to bar trans women to return to tribunal after federal court win Read more On Friday, the full bench of the federal court in Sydney upheld Bromwich’s decision and awarded Tickle damages of $20,000, double the amount initially awarded.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The court found Tickle was directly discriminated against twice, when she was excluded from accessing the Giggle app on the basis of her gender-related appearance, and second, when her readmission to the app was refused.
Tickle, from regional New South Wales , had her access to the app blocked in 2021 after she uploaded a selfie of her face as part of its registration process.
“The full court has found that Giggle For Girls and Ms Grover both excluded Ms Tickle from the Giggle app and refused to re-admit her on the basis of her gender-related appearance by reference to her selfie,” Perry told the court.
“This amounted to direct discrimination by reference to a characteristic that pertains to people of Ms Tickle’s gender identity, being a transgender woman.
“Ms Tickle has been successful in her cross appeal under the act, gender identity is defined as meaning gender-related identity and gender-related characteristics, including appearance.” The judges agreed discrimination against Tickle on the grounds of her gender identity was contrary to section 22 of the commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984 when read with section 51B of the same act.
At the four-day appeal hearing in August 2025, the full bench of the federal court heard that Grover’s team believed the app – designed as a “women-only safe space” – constituted a “special measure” under the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA), which allows discrimination with the aim of redressing historical disadvantage between men and women.
Tickle cross-appealed, claiming she was treated “as a hostile invader” and allegedly directly discriminated against twice when she was excluded from the Giggle for Girls app.
She sought $30,000 in general damages and $10,000 in aggravated damages. Her team argued previously awarded damages of $10,000 were inappropriate and did not take into account Grover’s conduct around the proceedings.
On Friday, Tickle was awarded $20,000 in damages. The court also ordered Giggle and Grover to pay her costs of up to $50,000.
Outside court, Tickle said that she took legal action to show “trans people that you can be brave and that you can stand up for yourself”.
“In the process, I surprised myself at just how brave I could be,” she continued. “Young Roxy would be surprised but overjoyed.” Tickle said when she began her gender affirmation in 2017, she had no idea that a small minority of people who had never met her “would invest an incredible amount of their own precious time and effort into ridiculing, degrading, threatening and mocking me to try to make my life as miserable as they could”.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that most Australians are kind and believe in allowing everyone to be free to live their life in dignity and be free to be who they truly are.” The lawsuit was first filed in December 2022 . During the initial three-day trial in April 2024, the court heard Tickle had lived as a woman since 2017 , has a birth certificate stating her gender is female, had gender affirmation surgery and “feels in her mind that psychologically she is a woman”.
The respondents claimed that biological sex was immutable and that the app had been intended as an online refuge for women.
It is the first gender identity discrimination case to reach the federal court and has been watched around the world given its potentially far-reaching implications for public spaces, sports and events.
According to the Giggle crowdfunding website, Grover’s team is collecting donations to prepare for a potential high court challenge.
The legal director of Equality Australia, Heather Corkhill, said the ruling was “a clear and significant win for equality and fairness”.
“Today’s decision is an important win for everyone protected under the act, including women and LGBTIQ+ people,” she said.
“Today’s decision affirms that trans Australians are entitled to the same legal protections, and the same right to live safely and with dignity, as everyone else.” Explore more on these topics New South Wales Sydney Gender Transgender Australian law news Share Reuse this content
