The High Court of Australia has rejected Sall Grover's attempt to appeal a Federal Court decision that found her women-only social media app, Giggle for Girls, discriminated against transgender woman Roxanne Tickle. The ruling, handed down on Thursday, marks the end of a long-running legal battle that began when Grover banned Tickle from the app in 2021.
In May, the Federal Court had affirmed a previous finding of discrimination, doubling the damages awarded to Tickle to $20,000 and ordering Grover to pay up to $100,000 in legal costs. Federal Court Justice Melissa Perry stated at the time that Grover's exclusion of Tickle from the app, based on her selfie, amounted to direct discrimination by reference to her gender identity.
The High Court's decision stated there was "no reason to doubt the Full Court's construction of s. 7D(1) and (2) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth)" and that any appeal based on an error in that construction had "insufficient prospects of success to warrant a grant of special leave to appeal."
Giggle for Girls and Grover had argued that the app was exempt from discrimination law because its aim was to achieve substantial equality between men and women and to create a "safe space" for women. However, lawyers for the Sex Discrimination Commissioner argued that such claims could permit "invidious discrimination" under the guise of a special measure.
The Sex Discrimination Act makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on their gender identity, sexual orientation, or intersex status. Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody commented that the Act is intended to ensure equal treatment and full participation in public life for all individuals, including transgender women.
Equality Australia welcomed the High Court's decision, with legal director Heather Corkhill stating that Australian laws have long recognized legal sex is not limited to sex assigned at birth, and any other interpretation would deny the existence of transgender people.
Despite the court's final rejection of her appeal, Grover expressed her determination to continue her fight, stating, "We have a government that won't, but we have rising opposition to this kind of ideology being imposed upon people. The law is wrong and the Australian courts have humiliated themselves."
