A Victorian lesbian group cannot exclude trans and bisexual women from its public events because doing so would amount to unlawful discrimination, a court has ruled.

In 2023, Lesbian Action Group (LAG) applied to the Australian Human Rights Commission for a five-year exemption under the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) to allow it to exclude trans and bisexual women from public events.

The committee ruled against LAG, so the organization asked the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (now known as the Administrative Review Tribunal) to overturn the decision.

Later Monday, member Stewart Fenwick released his findings, upholding the commission's original decision.

Exemptions in the SDA allow discrimination in certain circumstances. LAG argued it should be treated similarly to Melbourne's Peel Hotel, which has an exemption under Victorian law that allows it to turn away heterosexuals because doing so would help achieve equality for gay men.

But Fenwick said in his findings that the applicant was identified as a "discrete minority within a group within the community whose gender and sexual orientation are identified and these characteristics enable them to be protected by the SDA".

“They sought to actively discriminate against another group in the community who can be identified by their gender identity, a characteristic also protected by the SDA.

"Supporting blatant acts of discrimination cannot be the intended effect of the exemptions in the bill," he said.

Nicole Mowbray of LAG and the Australian Lesbian and Bisexual Alliance said the ruling was "extremely disappointing".

LAG is considering whether to appeal the finding.

At a hearing in Melbourne in September, the court heard the LAG considered trans women to be men, and its seven members claimed they needed to hold public events (as opposed to private events, which are not subject to the same laws) to promote publicity and welfare. Lesbian Feminist.

The committee believes that granting LAG exemptions from usual sex discrimination laws could result in increased health risks for trans lesbians. It also references the landmark Tickle v. Giggle federal court decision in August, which found that transgender women are women and should have access to women's services such as LAG events.