Content warning: This page contains discussion of homophobia, transphobia, conversion practices, mental health and suicide. If you need support contact QLife on 1800 184 527 (3PM-midnight daily) or Thorne Harbour Health’s LGBTIQA+ Mental Health Service.
Conversion practices that attempt to change or suppress a person’s sexuality or gender identity are now prohibited under South Australian law.
There are people in our community who falsely believe that being LGBTQA+ is an illness or disorder and that our sexuality or gender identity can be cured or healed. This “healing” is also known as conversion practices.
There is nothing wrong or broken about being LGBTIQA+.
Conversion practices have no therapeutic benefit. Instead, they cause a lifetime of trauma and harm.
From 1 April 2025, it is against the law in South Australia for someone to try to change or suppress your sexual orientation or gender identity.
If you have experienced conversion practices, you can make a complaint to Equal Opportunity SA.
For more information about laws banning conversion practices and to make a report, visit the Equal Opportunity SA website.
“I was told to lay down and everyone gathered around to lay their hands on me and prayed to expel this demon from me.
The messaging that I was going to hell had been drilled into my head because I failed to change who I was, and that is what caused a lot of my [mental health] problems.
– Russell Hoile, a 53-year-old conversion practices survivor alongside Kelly Vincent (left) from SA Rainbow Advocacy Alliance
Conversion practices (also know as “ex-gay” or “ex-trans” conversion “therapy”) seek to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender and sexual expression. They are sometimes referred to as Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity Change Efforts (SOGICE).
Conversion practices are underpinned by false ideologies that view LGBTQA+ people as broken and assert that LGBTQA+ people can be “cured” or “healed”.
These practices are often complex, nuanced and can range from subtle to overt. They can occur in a range of settings including:
in medical or psychological appointments where a professional makes it difficult to get support
disguised as counselling or as pastoral care or prayer
in support settings involving people with intellectual disabilities
in schools
in the family home.
Examples of conversion practices include:
disowning of the LGBTQA+ person from their faith community and family until they express a change in orientation.
spiritual mentoring or pastoral care led by a person in power that regularly reflects conversion ideologies
informal prayer between peers or support groups that reflect conversion ideologies
sermons or textual studies that focus on “traditional gender roles” with the implication that variance from these roles indicates deviance or brokenness
removal of the LGBTQA+ person from leadership to encourage “personal development” in the area of their sexuality or gender
How do conversion practices harm LGBTIQA+ people?
Psychological research has produced overwhelming clinical evidence that practices aimed at the reorientation of LGBT people not only do not work, but are extremely damaging to the long-term health and happiness of LGBTIQA+ people.
Each person knew from an early age that they were same-sex attracted or transgender.
Faith and service to their respective faith communities was at the centre of their lives during the period they were subject to gay conversion and related therapies.
Each person carries deep grief, and, in some cases anger, over being told they were “broken” and needed fixing.
All have experienced a profound sense of loss at the lives they had taken away from them.
More broadly, research shows that survivors of conversion practices commonly experiencing:
PTSD symptoms related to religious trauma
severe mental health difficulties, including increased likelihood of thinking about self-harm, enacting self-harm, thinking about suicide and attempting suicide
difficulty forming relationships
difficulties with sexual function
feelings of guilt at the trauma they put others through, including other LGBT people they encouraged to engage in conversion activities
deep sorrow at the hurt and conflicts experienced by those who had married a partner of the opposite sex in attempts to achieve reorientation
becoming estranged from members of their families
moral injury, or spiritual harm, for example deep sorrow at the loss of their faith community, or living with a continual tension, experiencing varying degrees of rejection from both their LGBT and their religious communities.
What does the South Australian law do?
The Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SA) bans conversion practices that attempt to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It includes:
protection for all LGBTQA+ people from conversion practices that consist of more than one event or occur on more than one occasion;
a civil (non-criminal) scheme that seeks to prevent harm through education and research;
criminal offences reserved for the most serious forms of practices.
For more information about laws banning conversion practices and how to make a report, visit the Equal Opportunity SA website.
How do I make a complaint about conversion practices?
All calls and emails to Equal Opportunity SA are confidential.
You may also want to speak with a lawyer about the process before you make a complaint. Call the Legal Services Comission’s free legal helpline for information and advice. Phone: 1300 366 424, Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 4:30 pm Visit: www.lsc.sa.gov.au
What happens if I make a complaint?
When a complaint is made, the Equal Opportunity Commissioner may:
conduct an investigation
offer to facilitate a voluntary outcome between survivors and those who have engaged in conversion practices
refer a complaint to the relevant health complaints entity
refer a complaint to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT)
decline to respond to reports.
If a matter is referred to SACAT, they may make an order that the person who has engaged in conversion practices:
perform other acts to redress any loss or damage.
refrain from further conduct amounting to conversion practices
pay compensation for loss or damage. For more information about laws banning conversion practices and how to make a report, visit the Equal Opportunity SA website.
Can I make a complaint about historical conversion practices that happened in the past
Generally, laws don’t apply retrospectively. We expect that only practices that occur after the law has taken effect are covered.
You can contact Equal Opportunity SA to discuss your specific circumstances. Phone: (08) 7322 7070 Email: Equal@sa.gov.au
What criminal penalties are in place for people who perpetrate conversion practices?
Perpetrators who cause serious harm that is substantial or endangers a person’s life face up to 5 years in jail.
Serious harm is harm that endangers a person’s life or is substantial.
Consent is not a defence to conversion practices that cause serious harm.
It is also an offence to take or arrange to take a person from South Australia for the purpose of conversion practices. People who do so face up to three years in jail, a fine of up to $15,000, or both
Why don’t you use the term conversion “therapy”?
There is nothing therapeutic about these harmful and damaging practices.
Medical professional bodies including the Australian Psychological Society have denounced conversion practices as having no clinical evidence to support it.
Alternately, there is clinical evidence that change or suppression practices are harmful and can compound the challenges already faced by LGBTQ+ communities.
Why don’t you talk about intersex people and conversion practices?
Conversion practices primarily reflect religious ideologies focused on sexual orientation and gender identity, not intersex variation.
As our friends at Intersex Human Rights Australia state in their Statement on the Religious Discrimination Bills package ‘Historically, people with intersex variations have not been subjected to religiously motivated discrimination in the same way as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people’.
Medical interventions performed on people with an intersex variation without their consent aren’t generally labelled ‘conversion practices’.
We know that unnecessary medical interventions performed on intersex people without their consent can be painful, traumatic and cause long-term physical and psychological harm.
Does the law cover a “one-off” instance of conversion practices?
Conversion practice under South Australian law refers to any practice, treatment, or sustained effort (occurring more than once) to change or supress a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
We’re concerned that this limits the ability of this law to protect people from harmful one-off instances of conversion practices.
We know that even a one-off experience of conversion practices can cause harm, for example: – a referral to a program or prayer group – the provision of self-help material intended for private use – a single incident of violence.
That’s why laws in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland have a more expansive definition of conversion practices that include one-off instances.
If you had a once-off experience of conversion practices, report it to Equal Opportunity SA who can consider the circumstances and take action accordingly.
We’ll continue to advocate for a stronger definition that truly ends conversion practices in South Australia.
What about conversion practices aimed at a group or the general public?
Practices that are aimed at the general public or a group are not considered to be conversion practices, no matter how harmful they are to LGBTIQA+ people. For example, religious practices such as sermons aren’t captured unless they are directed at an individual because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
If you’re concerned about conversion practices aimed at a group, we encourage you to report them to Equal Opportunity SA who can consider the circumstances and take action accordingly.
Can I make a complaint on behalf of someone else?
Currently, third parties and representative organisations cannot bring a complaint about conversion practices, or any matter under the Equal Opportunity Act (SA).
This places the burden of enforcement on individual survivors, who may take years to work through the trauma and be ready to make a complaint about conversion practices.
This also prevents people and organisations from making a complaint about discrimination on someone else’s behalf.
Many legal and rights experts have called on the government to address this issue, and Attorney-General Kyam Maher has committed to considering the matter.
What else do we need to ensure these laws work effectively?
We need greater investment in counselling and therapeutic supports for survivors of conversion practice.
Mental health services are hard to access for anyone, let alone finding an LGBTQA+ practitioner with experience understanding the complex trauma caused by conversion practices.
We also need increased public awareness about what conversion practices are, the ideology and key messages and false claims associated, along with the harm conversion practices cause.
When will these laws be reviewed?
Laws banning conversion practices must be reviewed 3 years from the commencement of the Act – ie. before 1 April 2028.
6 September 2022 | Attorney-General Hon. Kyam Maher reports that no breaches of SA Health memorandum restricting conversion practices (Source: Hansard)
Healing Spiritual Harms report calls for greater support for survivors (Source: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University)
SOGICE Survivor Statement calls on Australian Federal, State and Territory Governments to prevent the harm caused by LGBTQA+ conversion ideology and practices
2019
SA Health’s Chief Psychiatrist issued a memorandum to public health mental health services, restricting gay conversion therapy in SA Health services (Source: Hansard)
2018 | Preventing Harm, Promoting Justice report highlights harms of conversion practices in Australia (Source: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University)
This important reform was made possible by years of advocacy from survivors of conversion practices and the collaborative work of a range of organisations.
