InterAction for Health and Human Rights (InterAction or (InterAction DownUnder) is a voluntary organisation for intersex people that promotes the human rights and bodily autonomy of intersex people in Australia, delivers psychosocial and peer support, and provides education and information services. Established in 2009 and incorporated as a charitable company in 2010,About OII Australia , Organisation Intersex International Australia, 24 July 2013 it was formerly known as Intersex Human Rights Australia and Organisation Intersex International Australia, or OII Australia, and changed its name with the merger into it of Intersex Peer Support Australia. It is recognised as a Public Benevolent Institution.
History
The institution was founded in 2009 and established as a company in 2010. Founding president Gina Wilson stepped down on 1 September 2013.Changes At OII As Trailblazer Gina Wilson Retires , Star Observer, 13 September 2013Board changes at OII Australia: Gina Wilson steps down , Gay News Network, 2 September 2013
The current executive director is Morgan Carpenter, previously co-executive director and president.The OII Australia Board , Organisation Intersex International Australia, 12 October 2013. Bonnie Hart is Deputy Executive Director and InterLink service manager. Tony Briffa, known as the first publicly intersex mayor, previously served as co-executive director.Briffa to march in mayoral robes, Star Observer, 8 December 2011"Intersex Mayor Elected in Australia", Advocate.com, 9 December 2011"World's first intersex mayor, Cr Tony Briffa does not want to be called he or she", Herald Sun, 15 April 2013"Melbourne elects Australia's first intersex Mayor" , SameSame.com.au, 9 December 2011
Activities
Physical integrity and bodily autonomy
Intersex Human Rights Australia campaigns in favour of personal autonomy in medical interventions affecting intersex people, including an end to cosmetic or "normalising" surgeries on intersex infants.LGBTI Health Update, Vol. 3, No. 4, May 2013 , National LGBTI Health Alliance, May 2013Intersex health – Morgan Carpenter’s presentation to Health in Difference conference, OII Australia, 22 April 2013It’s time to stop cosmetic genital surgery on intersex infants, OII Australia, 18 July 2013Senate Inquiry reveals forced surgery on intersex children , Gay News Network, 25 September 2013 In late 2012, the Senate's Community Affairs References Committee established an inquiry into the involuntary or coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities. In February 2013, intersex was added as an additional term of reference.Involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people in Australia, Chapter 1, Senate Community Affairs References Committee, 25 October 2013 The Committee published a joint, cross-party report on 25 October 2013, making 15 recommendations. The conclusions of the inquiry supported much of the case and recommendations made by InterAction:Involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people in Australia, Chapter 3, Senate Community Affairs References Committee, 25 October 2013It's time to defend intersex rights, Morgan Carpenter at Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The Drum, 15 November 2013
In May 2019, InterAction published a multilingual joint statement signed by more than 50 intersex-led organizations condemning the introduction of "disorders of sex development" language into the International Classification of Diseases, stating that this causes "harm" and facilitates human rights violations, calling on the World Health Organization to publish clear policy to ensure that intersex medical interventions are "fully compatible with human rights norms".
The institution also engages directly with clinicians and biologists. While opposing use of terminology that it describes as pathologising, such as "Disorders of Sex Development",Concluding submission to the Senate Inquiry on involuntary or coerced sterilisation, OII Australia, 12 September 2013. Carpenter is nevertheless named as a reviewer for a "DSD Genetics" website funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia.DSD Genetics, Disorders of Sex Development Research Website, 9 October 2013
In a submission to the UN Committee Against Torture in 2016, the organisation submitted that Australian governments recognise the dignity and rights of LGBTI people, but at the same time, "harmful practices" on intersex children continue.
In March 2017, representatives of InterAction's founding organizations participated in an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand consensus "Darlington Statement" by intersex community organisations and others. The statement calls for legal reform, including the criminalization of deferrable intersex medical interventions on children, an end to legal classification of sex, and improved access to peer support. Alt URL
InterAction played a key role in the passage of legislation to protect the bodily autonomy of children with intersex variations in the Australian Capital Territory.Daily Hansard, Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, March 22, 2023Daily Hansard, Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, June 8, 2023
Psychosocial and peer support
InterAction delivers psychosocial and peer support services through the InterLinkInterLink, InterLink, July 2025 and Intersex Peer Support Australia programs.
Access to healthcare
In July 2013, the Commonwealth announced that it was removing sex or gender terms from item codes for Medicare procedures,Gender discrimination to be removed from Medicare, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 July 2013 following input from InterAction.All Gender Discrimination to be Removed from Medicare, The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP – Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research, 24 July 2013 InterAction noted that the changes do not ensure full access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).Medicare is now sex and gender neutral, OII Australia, 24 July 2013
Protection from discrimination
In late 2012, the Australian Government's proposed Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill included intersex as a "gender identity". This was criticised by InterAction on the basis that intersex people needed protection, but biological differences should not come within the definition.Proposed law leaves intersex 'vulnerable', Judith Ireland, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 January 2013. Writing in the Equal Rights Trust journal Equal Rights Review, Gina Wilson wrote, "Legislators initially did not have a clear understanding of what intersex was, but having given evidence to Senate Committees and spoken with legislators individually we are hopeful that intersex will be a protected attribute under the Bill."The Equal Rights Review, Volume Ten (2013) , Equal Rights Trust, 27 March 2013The Equal Rights Review , Equal Rights TrustSenate Committee Report on the Exposure Draft of Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012, Chapter 3, Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, 21 February 2013Senate Committee Report on the Exposure Draft of Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012, Chapter 7, Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, 21 February 2013
On 25 June 2013, the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act passed with cross-party support,On the historic passing of the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013, OII Australia, 25 June 2013 and became law on 1 August 2013. This was the first time "intersex status" had been a protected attribute under Australian discrimination legislation.LGBTI groups welcome the passage of "historic" national discrimination laws, OII Australia, NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, Transgender Victoria, A Gender Agenda, Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, 26 June 2013Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013, No. 98, 2013. C2013A00098, ComLaw, 2013
Identification documents
The organisation has stated that "while sex or gender markers are still required", it supports binary, non-binary and multiple gender classifications for adults, but only binary classifications for infants and children, fearing stigmatisation and the potential impact on sex assignment processes for infants.Third sex option on birth certificates , Deutsche Welle, 1 November 2013Third Gender: A Step Toward Ending Intersex Discrimination , Der Spiegel, 22 August 2013.Revised policy on identification documents, OII Australia, 12 November 2013Australia embraces new gender guidelines, Madeleine Coorey, Agence France-Presse, 14 June 2013 The organisation cautiously acknowledged an Australian Capital Territory Bill to modify the Territory's birth registrations process to create a third sex category for infants and children, stating, "neither of the two national intersex organisations had been engaged in talks before the bill was presented in the Assembly."ACT government bill will introduce wider gender identification, Lisa Cox, The Canberra Times, 29 November 2013ACT Govt proposes third option for birth certificates, Star Observer, 19 November 2013 In 2017, the organisation reported that no children had been assigned to such a category, viewing this as a vindication of the argument that such classifications exacerbate parental fears.
In March 2017, an Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand community statement called for an end to legal classification of sex, stating that legal third classifications, like binary classifications, were based on structural violence and failed to respect diversity and a "right to self-determination".
Marriage
Citing cases where marriages have been annulled, and where marriage prospects are stated as a rationale for early medical interventions, InterAction's founding organizations campaigned for marriage rights regardless of sex characteristics. The institution expressed concern at the marriage implications of constructions of intersex as a third sex. In 2017 the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 specifically refers to '2 people' rather than 'same-sex' with respect to the definition of marriage.
International work
InterAction for Health and Human Rights and its founding organizations are represented at numerous international events, including the "first United Nations Human Rights Council side event on intersex issues" in March 2014, alongside Mauro Cabral and representatives of Intersex UK and Zwischengeschlecht.
Intersex flag
The Intersex flag was created in July 2013 by Morgan Carpenter of InterAction for Health and Human Rights (then known as Organisation Intersex International Australia) to be a flag "that is not derivative, but is yet firmly grounded in meaning". The circle is described as "unbroken and unornamented, symbolising wholeness and completeness, and our potentialities. We are still fighting for bodily autonomy and genital integrity, and this symbolises the right to be who and how we want to be."An intersex flag, Intersex Human Rights Australia, 5 July 2013
Awards and recognition
Co-chair Tony Briffa was recognized for her instrumental role in the passing of legislative protections for intersex people in medical settings in debates in the State of Victoria in February 2026.
In a speech introducing legal protections for intersex people in medical settings in the Australian Capital Territory, Chief Minister Andrew Barr recognized Executive Director Morgan Carpenter for his "tireless work". In a later debate, Carpenter and his team including Steph Lum, Cody Smith, Bonnie Hart, Mimi Hall and Gabriel Filpi were recognized for their "diligent, passionate and highly intellectual work".