Landmark new laws could be passed as early as next week allowing people in Tasmania to change their gender on their birth certificates.

The legislation was passed in the upper house in Tasmania on Thursday night 8 votes to 6 and will be formally approved next week, before returning to the lower house to get the tick of approval to become state law.

It will allow people aged 16 and over to apply to change their gender through a statutory declaration at the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry.

Current birth certificates have a field saying 'sex'  but if new laws pass, a person can opt to change their gender or remove it from being shown, by applying through the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry

A parent or guardian can do so on behalf of someone under 16, but anyone under 18 may be asked to provide proof of counselling to make sure they're aware of what they're doing.

It also means a person will be able to change their gender officially without sexual reassignment surgery, Ruth Forest, Independent member for Murchison who brought the changes to parliament, told Daily Mail Australia.

Once their application goes through they can then apply to change their birth certificate details, or have the gender field removed, although someone's preferred gender will always remain shown on the register.  

The requirement for married transgender partners to divorce before they can change the gender on their birth certificate will also be removed. 

Tasmanian transgender activist Martine Delaney says it's only half way there, the legislation passing the Upper house has made history

The proposal also prevents hate speech and offensive language against gender identity and intersex status. 

Liberal Speaker Sue Hickey supported Labor and the Greens when the changes passed in the Lower House last year.

Murchison independent MLC Ruth Forrest who brought the proposals to parliament said the changes were 'about treating all Tasmanians equally'.

Although the legislation still needs to be voted on before becoming a law, Tasmanian transgender activist Martine Delaney told The Mercury that the LGBT community is already celebrating.

'When historians come to write about how Tasmania adopted the best transgender laws in the nation, and the world, they will say the quietest voices spoke the loudest,' she said.

But not everyone's excited for the potential new laws, Launceston MLC Rosemary Armitage who opposed the Bill said she was disappointed the legislation passed the Upper House without 'proper community consultation'. 

The ACT, SA and NT have similar laws but Tasmania's laws would go further by allowing people to remove gender entirely from their birth certificate.

Ruth Forest, Independent member for Murchison who brought the changes to parliament says a person will be able to change their gender officially without sexual reassignment surgery

This article originally appeared on : DailyMail