The Federal Court Rules: Everyone Must Accept Trans Ideology
A Women’s App Shut Down Thanks to Gender Ideology
In 2020, Sall Grover launched Giggle for Girls: a women’s-only social media app. Giggle used AI software to screen out men at sign-up, checking the applicants’ selfies against a facial detection algorithm. If a man was flagged, the selfie would be manually reviewed in case the AI had made a mistake.
In 2021, Roxanne Tickle, a biological man recognised as female under Queensland law, signed up to Giggle and uploaded a selfie. Grover saw it was a man and denied her application. Tickle took Grover to court.[1]
In August 2024, the Federal Court ruled in favour of Tickle. It found that excluding him from a women-only app was unlawful discrimination on the basis of his “gender identity”. In 2013, the Gillard government inserted “gender identity” into the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA), while also removing the biological definitions of man and woman.[2] Consequently, Grover was ordered to pay Tickle $10,000.
The Court Doubles Down
Grover followed up by appealing the decision. Tickle also cross-appealed, demanding a greater sum. On the 15th of May 2026, the Full Federal Court handed down its answer, and it was worse than the first ruling. The three judges dismissed Grover’s appeal, sided with Tickle on the cross-appeal, and ruled that Grover hadn’t just indirectly discriminated against Tickle; she had directly discriminated against him twice and was ordered to pay $20,000.[3]
Grover didn’t hide her reaction. “Men who claim to be women have more rights than actual women in Australia,” she said outside court. She has vowed to take the case to the High Court.[4]
Why This Is Bigger Than One App
It would be a mistake to treat this as a story about one app and one court case. The judges didn’t just rule on Giggle; they handed down findings that future judges are bound to follow. The same reasoning that forced a women-only app to accept a man can be used with any women-only space in the country, such as: domestic violence shelters, women’s prisons, women’s gyms, change rooms, sporting competitions, and support groups. If a women-only app can be sued for keeping men out, all women-only spaces are at risk.
But it goes further than that. By including “gender identity” as a protected category, the SDA legislates that every company and organisation must accept trans ideology — that a biological man or woman can identify as a gender other than their biological sex. The SDA already protects against discrimination based on biological sex, so the inclusion of gender identity was to mandate the acceptance of trans ideology.
Some politicians are now pushing to fix the law, but many have only pointed to the women’s rights problem — warning that without clear sex-based protections, women and girls will not have legal protections on the sporting field, in women’s-only gyms, on women-only online apps or in women’s prisons and domestic violence shelters.[5] While we agree, this amendment is not sufficient.
Parliament’s Half-Measure
In May 2026, Nationals MP Alison Penfold introduced the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sex-Based Rights) Bill 2026. This reform would restore the definitions of “man” and “woman” that Gillard’s government deleted in 2013, replace “different sex” with “opposite sex” throughout the Act, and write explicit protections for women-only spaces and services — including online — into law.[6]
However, Penfold’s bill retains “gender identity” as a protected category in the Act.[7] That is not good enough. A law that treats “gender identity” as a legitimate basis for legal protection is a law that submits to trans ideology and affirms their beliefs as legally legitimate. It doesn’t affirm biological reality; it appeases trans activists.
One Nation’s Pauline Hanson has committed to reintroducing her own Sex Discrimination Amendment (Acknowledging Biological Reality) Bill, which goes where Penfold’s won’t: removing “gender identity” from the Act entirely. We don’t think Australian law should affirm trans ideology. Until that category is removed from the SDA entirely, this fight isn’t over.
What You Can Do
Our petition tells Parliament to restore biological reality to the law, and to remove “gender identity” as a protected category. We are the only petition that asks for both of these changes.
If you believe women deserve spaces that are actually theirs — not trans ideology embedded in law — sign our petition and tell Parliament to fix the Sex Discrimination Act properly. You can sign the petition here.
References:
- Tickle v Giggle, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickle_v_Giggle
- Giggle v Tickle, the Federal Court Appeal: https://lawandreligionaustralia.blog/2026/05/16/giggle-v-tickle-the-federal-court-appeal-two-steps-back/
- Giggle for Girls Pty Ltd v Tickle [2026] FCAFC 64 (15 May 2026); Australian Human Rights Commission media release: https://humanrights.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/media-releases/sex-and-gender-rights/full-federal-court-finds-two-acts-of-direct-discrimination-in-giggle-v-tickle-appeal
- The Daily Declaration: https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2026/05/15/giggle-v-tickle-sall-grover-loses/
- Alison Penfold MP press release: https://www.thetimes.com.au/politics/50391-alison-penfold-will-fight-to-protect-women-in-sex-discrimination-act
- Protecting Women and Girls — Alison Penfold MP: https://www.alisonpenfold.com.au/protectingwomenandgirls
- New England Times: https://www.netimes.com.au/2026/05/21/penfold-says-timing-of-gender-bill-and-giggle-v-tickle-ruling-a-coincidence/