The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia today ruled against a female-only networking app, in a blow to upholding biological reality and women-only spaces.
The Court dismissed an appeal from Sall Grover, founder of female networking app Giggle for Girls, who in August 2024 was ruled to have “indirectly discriminated” against Roxanne Tickle, a man who identifies as a woman, by removing him from the app. The 2024 Tickle v. Giggle ruling stated that “sex is not confined to being a biological concept”.
The Federal Court today ruled that Grover and Giggle for Girls had engaged in “direct discrimination”, following a cross-appeal of the lower court’s decision by Tickle, and awarded Tickle $20,000 AUD in damages plus legal costs capped at $100,000 AUD.
ADF International supported Grover and Giggle’s case on the basis that Australian law should uphold biological reality and protect women’s spaces in accordance with international human rights law.
Tickle’s discrimination claim was made under the Sex Discrimination Act, which was amended in 2013 to include “gender identity” and to remove definitions of “man” and “woman”.
Today’s ruling stated: “While this appeal raises issues on which there are differing views within the community, it is important to emphasise that the issues for determination by the Court involve the construction and application of provisions of the SDA [Sex Discrimination Act]. The desirability or otherwise of that law is not a matter open to this Court to consider.”
Grover reacted to the ruling on X: “I am absolutely devastated. Men who claim to be women have more rights than actual women in Australia. It is women who are being discriminated against, not the men who claim to be us. But in a sense, nothing has changed: we will all wake up tomorrow & men will still not be women.”
The Court previously ruled in Tickle’s favour, finding that he experienced “indirect discrimination,” and ordered “Giggle for Girls” to pay $10,000 AUD in compensation and to cover Tickle’s legal costs.
In December 2025, Grover’s appeal maintaining that the term “female” referred to biological females only, was heard before the Full Court.
The Court today rejected Grover’s appeal and allowed Tickle’s counter appeal that he had experienced “direct discrimination”.
“A law written to protect women has been used to punish a woman for creating a space for women. That is what today’s judgment means in practice,” said Robert Clarke, Director of Advocacy for ADF International.
“The addition of ‘gender identity’ to the Sex Discrimination Act has been used to undermine the most basic conception of what a woman is. The need for single-sex spaces is recognised in international human rights law. It must be recognised in Australian law too, and if the courts will not say so, then Parliament must.”
