LGBT rights in the Northern Territory

LGBT rights in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory (Australia)
Status	Always legal for women; legal since 1983 for men Equal age of consent since 2003
Gender identity	Change of sex marker on birth certificate does not require sex reassignment surgery
Discrimination protections	Yes (both federal and territory law)
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	Same-sex marriage since 2017; Unregistered de facto unions recognised by territory law since 2003 (no civil union or relationship register)
Adoption	Yes (since 2018)

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Australia's Northern Territory have the same legal rights as non-LGBT people. The liberalisation of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Australia's Northern Territory has been a gradual process. Homosexual activity was legalised in 1983, with an equal age of consent since 2003. Same-sex couples are recognised as de facto relationships. There was no local civil union or domestic partnership registration scheme before the introduction of nationwide same-sex marriage in December 2017, following the passage of the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 by the Australian Parliament. The 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, designed to gauge public support for same-sex marriage in Australia, returned a 60.6% "Yes" response in the territory. LGBT people are protected from discrimination by both territory and federal law, though the territory's hate crime law does not cover sexual orientation or gender identity. The territory was the last jurisdiction in Australia to legally allow same-sex couples to adopt children.