'Push-polling' calls made misleading claims about gender identity laws, says Shane Rattenbury

A number of Canberrans received the calls from Melbourne-based group Binary Australia.

The automated survey has been labelled push-polling by Mr Rattenbury, who led the charge for the legislation, and ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr.

Mr Barr said the survey had misrepresented the legislation and "spread lies".

He said he had received a call and called it nasty and offensive.

"I know many people have found the call distressing," he said.

"To those people that have been hurt by these calls, I just want to say that in Canberra you are valued and your views are treated fairly and with respect."

He questioned why the Melbourne group were polling ACT residents on the subject weeks ahead of the ACT election.

Under the laws passed in the Legislative Assembly last week, 16-year-olds would be able to apply directly to Access Canberra to change the gender listed on their birth certificate.

Currently, a child needs the support of their parents, who then make an application.

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Residents were asked during the prerecorded survey about the legislation which, it claimed would strip parents of the ability to be part of the decision to change gender identity for children as young as five.

Mr Rattenbury told ABC Radio Canberra that was incorrect and the legislation was clear about parental involvement in the changes.

The law would allow children as young as 12 to ask the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal for special permission to apply to have their birth certificate amended.

Mr Rattenbury said the robocall also incorrectly implied the legislation would change laws regarding medical treatments.

"The most generous thing I can say is they don't understand the legislation," he said.

Mr Rattenbury said the community needed to support young people in Canberra's transgender, intersex and gender-diverse communities.

"I know a lot of people did hang up, found it confusing or offensive and did not want to participate," he said.

"We cannot be making the situation worse for these young people who already facing significant challenges.

"We need to be supporting them, not making their lives more difficult."

Binary Australia is an organisation that says it "aims to promote and celebrate the inherent differences between boys and girls, men and women. We uphold the biological assertion that there are two complementary genders". It has been approached for comment.