Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Australian state of New South Wales have the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual individuals and couples.

However, despite support from the Attorney General, Frank Walker, Young Labor, and public opinion polls that supported reform, it was defeated by the Catholic-dominated majority right faction of NSW Labor from inclusion before the act's introduction and was prevented from being included for debate in the Legislative Assembly by the Speaker, Laurie Kelly, who ruled it out of order.

[12] Undeterred, in November 1981 Petersen introduced a private member's bill which sought to decriminalise homosexual acts in NSW as well as equalise the age of consent to 16.

[13] During the 1980s and 1990s, Sydney was hit by a spate of gay bashings, hate crimes and murders, a large number of which remain unsolved.

[19][4] Gay Liberal Party Coogee MLA Bruce Notley-Smith introduced a private members bill called the Criminal Records Amendment (Historical Homosexual Offences) Bill 2014 to allow those convicted of historical private consensual adult gay male same-sex sexual activity to apply for it to be expunged.

[20] On 23 October 2014, the New South Wales Parliament unanimously passed the Criminal Records Amendment (Historical Homosexual Offences) Bill 2014 in both houses and was made into law by Assent.

[22] In May 2024, the Cumberland City Council in western Sydney by a “close vote” of 6–5 has banned and sanctioned certain books within libraries – that discuses homosexuality and same sex couples, a form of censorship.

[23][24][25][26][27] However, within a week, Cumberland City Council voted in favour of a motion to rescind the initial book ban due to community outrage and threats of losing NSW Government funding.

New South Wales Attorney General John Hatzistergos blocked access to the report for two years on the grounds he would table it in parliament sometime in the future.

Previous reports by the commission have recommended stepparent adoption provisions to include same-sex de facto relationships.

In February 2010, New South Wales Attorney General Hatzistergos announced that the state government will introduce legislation for a statewide relationships register modelled on ones already in place in the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania.

[68] Also both sport and very broadly-based religious exemptions within non-public schools – still apply to explicitly allow discrimination on the grounds of “sex, gender, pregnancy and homosexuality exclusively” within NSW.

For example banning transgender people from female sports categories and expelling gay students and teachers within a Catholic-run school.

All women (regardless if they are single, married or in a relationship with another person) are permitted access to IVF treatment in New South Wales under the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007.

[53][54] There has been controversy with clause 17 in the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007 that allows donors to nominate classes of people to whom their sperm or eggs may not be given,[87] opening the way for discrimination against ethnic, religious and other minorities, including same-sex couples.

[89] The bill reiterated previous legislation, declaring that the birth mother and her husband are lawfully deemed to be the legal parents.

[93] However, effective from 1 July 2025 under equality legislation recently adopted by NSW – children and babies born from commercial surrogacy based arrangements overseas are “automatically recognized from the moment of conception”.

This immediately removes a loophole that prevented thousands of children and babies within NSW getting access to a birth certificate, because the parents have chosen a commercial surrogacy arrangement overseas.

[96][97] In October 2024, a bill passed the lower house chamber by a vote of 50–30 that explicitly removes, abolishing and repeals the sexual reassignment surgery requirements for changing sex on a birth certificate to be inline with the rest of Australia.

[101][102] In April 2014, the High Court of Australia ruled that Australian law allows the registration of a "change of sex" to "non-specific" and does not require one to identify themselves as either male or female on identity documents.

In March 2022, rainbow birth certificates became available for individuals born or adopted within NSW – without gender or sex listed to be inclusive and diverse.

[106] In November 2024, it was reported by ABC News – that a transgender individual within a male prison was granted a settlement by the government of NSW.

[108][109][110][111][112] In June 2018, both houses of the Parliament of New South Wales unanimously passed and the Governor of New South Wales signed an urgent bill without amendments called the Crimes Amendment (Publicly Threatening and Inciting Violence) Bill 2018[113] to repeal the vilification laws within the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 and replace it with criminal legislation with up to an explicit 3-year term of imprisonment within the Crimes Act 1900.

[125] In August 2019, the New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard is proposing a potential national and state ban on the agenda.

While NSW does not currently ban gay conversion therapy, disciplinary proceedings can be taken against a health practitioner who provides services in an unethical manner.

[126][127] In February 2021, it was announced that a cross-party group of MPs of all political affiliations are planning to introduce a bill to ban conversion therapy within NSW.

[133] In October 2023, it was announced that the Chris Minns Labor government would introduce a bill to ban conversion therapy practices in NSW "by the end of the year".

[135] Then in March 2024, a government bill was formally introduced to the lower house to explicitly ban conversion therapy with certain limited "religious and parental exemptions and carveouts" – with up to 5 years imprisonment.

[145] Since 1 October 2022, reforms to the NSW parental leave rights and entitlements removed the archaic "breadwinner" and "homemaker" titles – to be inline with federal legislation.

[149] In January 2025, it was announced that the Palace Hotel within Broken Hill that filmed the 1994 Priscilla Queen of the Desert Australian movie is protected on the NSW Heritage Listing.