Trans and “gender diverse” people born in Victoria will no longer have to pay a fee to change their official gender on their birth certificate after the government announced it would waive all fees including express postage costs.

Victorians who identify as trans were first allowed to change their birth certificate gender in 2020, when the previous Andrews Labor government removed restrictions so that surgical or hormonal treatments were unnecessary for a status change.

The new certificates will wipe an applicant’s previous name should they change it, and do not acknowledge the transition.

Currently, new birth certificates come with a $140.40 (US$90.60) price tag while those born outside the state pay $122, which will now be waived.

Victorian Minister for Government Services Natalie Hutchins said the move would ensure money was not an obstacle.

“We’re making sure money isn’t an obstacle for trans and gender diverse people to have documents that reflect who they really are,” she said.

The Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory all allow people to change their sex on their birth certificate without medical or hormonal treatments, but Victoria is the first state to axe the bill for doing so.

The Victorian government says around two thirds of trans or “gender diverse” people in the state don’t have adequate documentation reflecting their status.

The state’s Minister for Equality Vicki Ward the waiver was about being “fair.”

“This is an important step forward for our trans and gender diverse communities—an empowering measure that provides fair and proper legal recognition of their lived identity,” she said in a statement.

The Victorian government’s announcement comes following Trans Awareness Week and Trans Day of Remembrance.

In April, the Allan government enacted sweeping anti-vilification laws which criminalise hate speech against people based on gender identity, sex and sexual orientation, making it an offence with a penalty up to five years’ jail.

The state’s Gender Equality Act also requires public sector bodies to produce gender action plans as well as reporting on measures to include trans and “gender diverse” people.

Victorian state schools must also set action plans for trans identifying students.