An Australian Federal Court has significantly increased the compensation awarded to Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman, in a landmark discrimination case against Sall Grover, founder of the Giggle for Girls app. The court dismissed Grover’s appeal and doubled the original payout, finding that Tickle was directly discriminated against based on her gender identity. The decision finalizes a finding that Grover unlawfully blocked Tickle from the women-only platform.

The dispute, known as “Tickle vs Giggle,” marks the first time a gender identity discrimination case has been heard by Australia’s Federal Court. Tickle, a biological male who identifies as a woman, had used the Giggle for Girls app for approximately six months after successfully registering in 2021. Grover, who founded the app in 2020 to create a safe, women-only online space, removed Tickle’s account after observing “male facial features” in her profile photo. Grover stated in court that she would have simply identified Tickle as “male” and blocked the account, a process she equated to removing all males from the platform.

Throughout the legal proceedings, Giggle’s legal team contended that “sex” is a biological concept and conceded that discrimination occurred, but argued it was on the grounds of sex, not gender identity. However, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act prohibits providers of goods or services from discriminating against individuals based on their gender identity. In its recent judgment, the full Federal Court determined that Grover engaged in unlawful direct discrimination, concluding she treated Tickle, a transgender woman, “less favourably than a person designated female at birth seeking access to the Giggle App.” The three-judge panel also found that the initial ruling had erred by not classifying Grover’s immediate visual assessment of Tickle’s profile picture as direct discrimination, having previously deemed it indirect.

Following the Federal Court’s decision, which increased Tickle’s compensation to AU$20,000 ($14,000; £11,000), Sall Grover announced her intention to appeal the ruling to the High Court, indicating the prolonged legal battle is set to continue.