Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman, was blocked from the female-only social media app Giggle for Girls in 2021 after uploading a profile photo, which led to her account being removed for showing "male facial features," according to the app’s founder Sall Grover [1, 2, 3, 4].
The Federal Court of Australia ruled on May 15, 2026, that Giggle for Girls and Grover directly discriminated against Tickle based on her gender identity. The full bench upheld an earlier 2024 ruling that had found indirect discrimination and identified two instances of direct discrimination [1, 2, 3, 4]. Justice Melissa Perry said the court found Giggle and Grover excluded Tickle "on the basis of her gender-related appearance by reference to her selfie," amounting to direct discrimination tied to her status as a transgender woman [2].
Grover had testified that when she reviewed Tickle’s photo, she "would have seen the photo and just gone, 'male', and blocked," applying the same process to all users she perceived as male [1]. Giggle for Girls argued the app qualified as a "special measure" under the Sex Discrimination Act to provide a women-only safe space [2]. However, the court concluded this did not exempt the app from discrimination laws, which forbid discrimination by goods and services providers on the ground of gender identity [1, 2].
The Federal Court doubled Tickle’s original payout from AU$10,000 to AU$20,000 and ordered legal costs to be paid [1, 2, 3, 4]. This marks the first case of alleged gender identity discrimination to be heard by the Australian Federal Court [1].
Tickle expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating, "我對於自己案件的結果相當滿意，我希望它能幫助跨性別和性別多元群體及其親友癒合創傷。我提起訴訟是為了告訴跨性別者，你們可以勇敢為自己挺身而出," which translates to her hope the case will help transgender and gender-diverse communities heal and encourage them to stand up for their rights [3, 4].
The case’s timeline began in 2021 when Tickle was blocked from the app, followed by an initial Federal Court finding of indirect discrimination in August 2024. A full bench appeal hearing occurred in August 2025 before the May 2026 ruling that confirmed direct discrimination and increased damages [1, 2, 3, 4].
