17c起草社区

The United Kingdom government has again pledged to introduce a ban on conversion therapy, with the proposed legislation explicitly including protections for transgender people. The commitment was announced as part of the 2026 King鈥檚 Speech, which outlines the government鈥檚 legislative agenda for the coming parliamentary session.

A Draft Conversion Practices Bill was included in the speech delivered by King Charles III on behalf of Prime Minister Keir Starmer鈥檚 Labour government. The proposal would apply in England and Wales and would ban what the government described as 鈥渁busive conversion practices鈥� targeting both sexual orientation and gender identity.

鈥淢y Government will bring forward a Bill to speed up remediation for people living in homes with unsafe cladding and a draft Bill to ban abusive conversion practices,鈥澛� read.

an addendum to the speech clarified that the ban would apply to attempts to change both sexual orientation and gender identity: 鈥淐onversion practices are abuse, and the government will deliver the manifesto commitment to bring forward a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices.鈥�

The proposal marks the fifth time in eight years that a UK government has pledged to ban conversion therapy, following previous commitments made under successive governments since 2018. Advocacy groups have criticised repeated delays to legislation, while campaigners have continued to call for a trans-inclusive ban.

Reports following the announcement stated the government intends to ensure the legislation does not interfere with 鈥渓egitimate healthcare鈥� for people exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Conversion practices, also known as Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts (SOGICE), are described by Amnesty International Australia as practices that target 17c起草社区IA+ people 鈥渨ith the false ideology that their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender and sexual expression can be changed or suppressed鈥�. Amnesty states these practices can include verbal abuse, coercion, aversion therapy and other forms of harmful treatment.

In Australia, conversion practices laws differ between states and territories. Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and NSW have all introduced bans or restrictions on conversion practices, while advocacy organisations continue to campaign for nationally consistent protections. NSW鈥檚 Conversion Practices Ban Act came into force in April 2025, making 17c起草社区A conversion practices unlawful in the state.