Trans woman Roxanne Tickle wins historic appeal in Australia’s 'Giggle for Girls' discrimination case

Australia’s Federal Court has upheld a landmark ruling in favour of a transgender woman in the widely discussed “Giggle for Girls” discrimination case, reinforcing legal protections for trans people under Australian law.

The legal dispute began after transgender woman Roxanne Tickle was removed from the female-only social networking app Giggle for Girls after the platform’s founder determined, based on her appearance, that she was male.

Tickle filed a discrimination lawsuit in December 2022, arguing that she had been unlawfully excluded because of her gender identity. The case quickly became a flashpoint in broader debates around trans rights and access to gendered spaces.

In 2024, the Federal Court ruled that Giggle for Girls had engaged in unlawful indirect discrimination against Tickle under Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act 1984. The court found that excluding Tickle because she is a trans woman violated protections based on gender identity.

Giggle founder Sall Grover later appealed the decision, arguing that sex is an “unchangeable biological binary” and that women should have the right to create single-sex digital spaces that exclude trans women.

On Friday, the full bench of the Australian Federal Court rejected those arguments and upheld the earlier ruling, further strengthening the legal recognition of transgender people under Australian anti-discrimination law.

The court affirmed that under Australian law, sex is not limited solely to a person’s sex assigned at birth. Judges ruled that Tickle had experienced direct discrimination linked to characteristics associated with her gender identity as a transgender woman.

“This amounted to direct discrimination by reference to a characteristic that pertains to people of Ms Tickle’s gender identity, being a transgender woman,” the ruling stated.

The judges also increased Tickle’s compensation from AUD $10,000 to AUD $20,000, including aggravated damages related to Grover’s conduct during the proceedings.

Following the ruling, Tickle welcomed the outcome and said she hoped the case would help support trans and gender-diverse Australians.

“I’m very pleased by the outcome of my case, and I hope that it assists trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones to heal,” she said.

“I’ve brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave and that you can stand up for yourself. In the process, I surprised myself at how brave I could be.”