A biological male accused of violently assaulting their female partner was placed in a women’s prison after legally changing their sex despite having undergone no gender-affirming surgery and retaining male genitalia.
Western Australian prison authorities were blindsided when the inmate produced a revised birth certificate declaring him female, triggering their transfer to Perth‘s Bandyup Women’s Prison following their arrest last year.
The case has ignited alarm within corrective services, with officials privately conceding the situation was unprecedented and deeply disruptive.
The inmate was immediately segregated from the general prison population amid concerns that housing a person with a penis in an all-female jail posed safety and management risks.
The accused has since been granted bail and is awaiting trial, but if convicted will serve any sentence in a women’s prison under the state’s gender recognition laws, introduced last year.
The law allows a person to change their legal sex without surgery.
Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia said the safety of prisoners and staff remained paramount, confirming that inmates who have not undergone gender-affirming surgery would be isolated from the general population.
‘Safety is my number one priority and any prisoner who hasn’t undergone gender-affirming surgery will be isolated from the general population,’ he said.
WA Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia (pictured) said inmates who have not undergone gender-affirming surgery would be isolated from the general population
Bandyup Prison’s most infamous inmate is Catherine Birnie who was convicted in 1987 alongside her partner, David Birnie, for the rape, torture, and murder of four women in Perth
‘The Department of Justice has a policy to manage transgender prisoners, which protects the welfare and rights of the prisoner and others in the custodial environment.’
It is understood the Department of Justice is considering building a separate facility to accommodate trans inmates.
‘The management of any transgender prisoner who has not undergone gender-affirming surgery will be decided upon by the Corrective Services Commissioner and Corrective Services Minister,’ the spokesperson told The West Australian.
Prison officers familiar with the case say the Department has done a good job managing a most unusual situation, however the special attention required for the prisoner is a ‘headache’ at a time when jails are rammed with inmates.
News of the transgender controversy at Bandyup comes as the Victorian Government secretly compensated a female prisoner who was sexually assaulted by a transgender killer locked up in a women’s jail.
Killer Clinton Rintoull attacked the prisoner at Victoria’s HM Tarrengower Prison in 2022 after being transferred there from a men’s facility.
Rintoull had been moved to the minimum-security women’s prison while transitioning from male to female.
Corrections Victoria last month updated its policies for the placement of transgender prisoners to give ‘them less say over where they are held in custody’.
Convicted killer Clinton Rintoull (above) sexually assaulted a female prisoner at HM Tarrengower Prison in 2022
It’s understood senior Labor figures pushed for a tougher crackdown, including a blanket ban on any male-born transgender killers or sex offenders being housed in female prisons.
Senior government sources said the blanket ban plan will be reignited amid revelations of Rintoull’s offending.
Rintoull is one of at least seven biological males who have been transferred from men’s prisons to Victoria’s female-only jails, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and HM Tarrengower.
In October, Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan directed Corrections Victoria to update policies relating to transgender criminals, placing greater consideration on the prisoner’s offending rather than their trans status.
An updated policy published last month ditched a requirement that a ‘person should be imprisoned in the prison of their gender rather than their sex assigned or assumed at birth’ as a ‘guiding principle’.
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has committed to banning male-born ‘transgender sex offenders’ and paedophiles from the state’s female prisons.
An Allan government spokesperson ducked a question on the secret payout.
‘The safety and welfare of all prisoners in the system is paramount when determining placements,’ they said.
‘Corrections Victoria has updated its placement policies so it’s clearer that this must be the first consideration when deciding where prisoners go. We stand ready to act further if needed.’