A Perth-based health insurance firm has become the first insurance company in Australia to recognise their customers who do not identify themselves as either male or female, it has been reported.
HIF, a not-for-profit private fund, will offer a third gender category on all its forms, paper and online, as well as the honorific Mx (pronounced ‘Mux’) for customers who do not wish to use traditional titles such as miss, mr, mrs, dr, prof, or rev,
The Australian reported.
Graeme Gibson, HIF managing director, said the decision to change the forms was made following feedback from the LGBTI community.
“HIF members may select the ‘other’ gender option if they choose to identify as neither male nor female, including … those who are agender, androgyne, bigender, gender fluid, intersex, neutrois, non-binary, pangender, or transgender,” Gibson said.
The Australian Passport Office already allows Australians to identify themselves as M, F, or X on their passports. This year’s census was also the first to offer a third gender category.
Gibson said HIF’s initiative honours the company’s “commitment to championing inclusion, diversity, and equality in the community, and to keep evolving with societal changes,”
The Australian reported.
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