Gay conversion therapy would be banned in the ACT by the end of next year, under a Barr government plan designed to make Canberra the "most welcoming city in Australia".
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The government also wants to make it easier for people to change the gender on their birth certificates, as part of the first phase of its so-called Capital of Equality strategy.
Former Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris promised in May last year that the government would ban gay conversion therapy, a practice she described as "abhorrent and completely inconsistent with the inclusive values of Canberrans".
But more than a year later, the government has yet to bring forward laws to the Legislative Assembly to ban the practice.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr told The Canberra Times that drafting laws to ban the widely-discredited and controversial practice was not straightforward.
Mr Barr said the most complex aspect was establishing a legal definition for "conversion practices".
"[The challenge is] where does counselling support go beyond providing [a person] with appropriate support and seeks to change someone's sexuality."
Mr Barr, who was Australia's first openly gay state or territory leader, said the ACT was working closely with the Victorian government, which in February announced plans to ban gay conversion therapy in its jurisdiction.
He said nationally-consistent laws were the best option, given that organisations or individuals which used the practice could operate across jurisdictions.
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten had pledged a national gay conversion therapy ban if the party won the federal election in May.
But Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected that approach, saying it was a matter for the states.
Mr Barr expected the territory's ban to be legislated next year, although he could not provide a firm timeline.
The move is among a range of measures to be implemented in the first phase of the government's LGBTIQ+ strategy.
The government is planning tweaks to the territory's births, deaths and marriages laws to make it easier for people to change the gender on their birth certificates.
Mr Barr said the ACT was developing an online-based system for managing birth certificates, which would make it easier for people to make a change.
He said the new system would also help the government with data collection.
The strategy does not outline plans to make the inclusion of gender optional on birth certificates, as is the case in Tasmania.
But Mr Barr said that option could be considered in the future. He expected there would be a "variety of views" in the community about the idea, but believed the "overwhelming majority of Canberrans would back a more inclusive approach".
The plan also calls on the government to prioritise working with businesses which provide "inclusive and non-discriminatory services", as well as advertise job vacancies in a way that targets LGBTIQ+ people and communities.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
