October 2025
This page details changes to how gender data is collected and used in ANU staff and student systems. Updates are being made to use appropriate language to describe gender, distinct from sex, and allow you to more accurately represent your identity. These changes may directly impact staff and students with a trans or gender diverse experience, and students with variations in sex characteristics or an intersex experience. Support is available and anyone with concerns is encouraged to refer to the support section below.
If you need to change other personal details recorded in HRMS, please contact your Human Resources Business Partner for your local area.
What are the changes?
The Australian Government’s Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) system will transition from using a combined sex/gender model to a model that acknowledges gender is distinct from sex. The new model aligns with the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2020 standard for sex, gender and sex orientation variables, which defines gender as a social and cultural concept relating to an individual’s identity, expression and experience. All universities are required to have implemented this change for student reporting by 1 January 2026. Because our student system and staff systems use the same platform, changes to the student system to comply with the new TCSI system will impact the staff system options.
As part of this update, staff will be able to self-identify their gender at any given time through their Human Resources Business Partner. This may be different from the sex recorded at birth or what appears on legal documents. Any supporting documentation required can be determined through conversation with your Human Resources Business Partner. The new gender options are:
- woman or female
- man or male
- non-binary
- different term
- prefer not to answer
While the updated gender options use language that more accurately reflects sociocultural understanding of gender, we acknowledge that this update removes ‘indeterminate/intersex/unspecified’ as an option. If you have selected this option previously, you will receive direct communication inviting you to make a new selection in line with the above options. This may feel limiting and may cause distress, particularly for members of the intersex community or those with variations of sex characteristics. We encourage anyone who feels concerned about this to refer to the support services below and engage with future opportunities to shape more inclusive data collection at ANU.
From 4 November 2025, all staff are encouraged to view their gender in HORUS, and ensure it best reflects how you describe your gender.
If you have previously selected ‘female’ or ‘male’, this will have been updated to ‘woman or female’ and ‘man or male’, respectively.
If you have previously selected ‘indeterminate/intersex/unspecified’, this will have been updated to ‘no value defined’ as this option will no longer be available. Please contact the Staff Respect Consultant or your local area Human Resources Business Partner to update your gender information. Your information will be treated with respect and sensitivity. You are encouraged to do this by 31 December 2025.
We recognise that for many this is not a simple switch, and that this has a particular impact on staff with a trans or gender diverse experience, and staff with variations in sex characteristics or an intersex experience. If you have any concerns about this change, we encourage you to reach out to support services listed below and engage with future opportunities to shape more inclusive data collection at ANU.
If you experience any technical difficulties throughout this process, please reach out to the Staff Respect Consultant for support.
Previously, TCSI has aligned with older Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender and asked for sex and gender information in a way that conflated the two. Up to now, the options have been ‘male’, ‘female’ or ‘indeterminate/intersex/unspecified’. These options more closely align with descriptions of an individual’s sex, which refers to biological sex characteristics (e.g. internal and external genitalia, chromosomes, hormones).
The ‘indeterminate/intersex/unspecified’ option, often signified with an ‘X’, was established in line with sex discrimination legislation to capture variations in sex characteristics. Some systems have misinterpreted this as a gender field, which has meant that some people may have selected ‘X’ in the absence of more accurate options.
The new changes ask for gender as distinct from sex. As ‘indeterminate/intersex/unspecified’ typically describes sex and not gender, it will no longer be an available option to choose from.
However, we acknowledge that removing this option may also create disruptions in the transition and may erase the representation of some intersex people.
If you have any concerns about this change, we encourage you to reach out to support services listed below, and engage with future opportunities to shape more inclusive data collection at ANU.
Support is available
We understand this change may be distressing for some members of the community, particularly those who have variations in sex characteristics or identify as intersex, as well as those with a trans or gender-diverse experience.
The Staff Respect Consultant is here to support you and discuss these changes and can provide internal referrals to other support services. If you would like to speak to a team member about these changes, please email staffrespect@anu.edu.au
ANU Counselling available for staff
The Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) are available all year round for staff and their families. All ANU staff are eligible for four confidential and free appointments with trained professionals in the mental health space.
- Assure - a crisis support line available 24/7 by calling 1800 808 374.
- Converge - a crisis support line available 24/7 by calling 1300 687 327. Converge offer specialist helplines, to contact the LGBTQIA+ line please call 1300 523 874.
Advisers to Staff - ANU also provides staff with free confidential professional counsellors on campus, email staff.adviser@anu.edu.au
This webpage provides internal and external support services and resources for ANU students who identify as members of the LGBTIQA+ community (including trans, gender diverse, intersex, and people with variations of sex characteristics).
Contact
- Claudia Munnings