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Women’s advocate Kirralie Smith and her organisation Binary face up to $200,000 in fines after their statements calling male-born soccer players “men” were ruled unlawful vilification under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act.

A New South Wales court has ruled that calling a person born male a “man” amounts to unlawful vilification, adding to a series of legal setbacks for women’s rights advocate Kirralie Smith.

Two lengthy judgments handed down Tuesday by Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund focussed on a collection of social media posts Smith made in 2023 about Stephanie Blanch and Riley Dennis — two male-born players who compete in female soccer divisions in NSW.

“I am satisfied that the defendant unlawfully vilified the plaintiff… when she referred to the plaintiff as a male or a man,” Freund wrote in one of the rulings.

Smith, who serves as Director and Spokesperson of Binary Australia, may face penalties of up to $200,000 in fines, mandatory apologies, and compulsory re-education to affirm the idea that men can become women.

The decisions follow last week’s separate Court of Appeal ruling that upheld a two-year apprehended violence order (AVO) against Smith for “harassment” after she posted images questioning male participation in women’s sport. That AVO prevents Smith from posting content identifying Blanch, who is also a plaintiff in one of this week’s judgments.

Biological Facts Ruled ‘Severe Contempt’

Tuesday’s decisions arose from two separate complaints lodged by Stephanie Blanch and Riley Dennis earlier this year. Blanch, who adopted a female identity in 2016, plays for Wingham FC. Dennis, also trans-identifying, is the top goal scorer in Football NSW’s Women’s League One First Grade.

On social media and in emails, Kirralie Smith questioned the fairness of their participation and referred to them as male. One Binary Australia newsletter described Blanch as “a bloke in a frock,” while Smith’s posts highlighted Dennis’s dominant performance, asking why there was a women’s division “if anyone is a woman.”

The court concluded that these statements had the capacity to incite “severe contempt” or “hatred” under section 38S of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW).

The judge ordered Smith and Binary Australia to delete existing content, publish apologies, and create compliance programs to prevent future “vilification.” Failure to comply within two months could result in significant financial penalties.

Kirralie Smith was visited by police on March 31 and told to appear in court for identifying and “misgendering” trans-identified male athletes in women’s sport.
Three Apprehension of Violence Orders (AVO) were filed against her. Two vilification charges were lodged against her… pic.twitter.com/0VlPbsucl7

— Genevieve Gluck (@WomenReadWomen) September 11, 2023

Family First Condemns ‘Unjust Laws’

Family First National Director Lyle Shelton described the rulings as “a further blow for girls and women’s rights and for freedom of speech.”

“These are unjust decisions based on unjust laws,” Shelton said in a statement. “No one should be able to sue their fellow Australian on the basis of hurt feelings. Australians should be free to engage in debate, even robustly.”

Shelton warned that anti-discrimination provisions across Australia were being used “vexatiously by anti-free speech activists” and pledged that Family First would fight for legislative reform.

“While these laws are often referred to as ‘hate speech laws,’ they are in effect used to silence speech activists hate,” he said.

“The limits to free speech should be at incitement to violence, not to protect the political positions of those engaged in identity politics by shutting down discussion,” Shelton further argued.

“Sadly, Liberal and Labor politicians allow the law to be used vexatiously by anti-free speech activists.”

Kirralie Smith: Truth Is Being Penalised

Speaking exclusively with The Daily Declaration, Kirralie Smith said the outcome of this week’s cases sends a chilling message to all Australians who care about truth and fairness.

“It is an extremely disappointing result,” she said. “Women are being forced to accept males in their spaces, services and sport without the ability to object. To object is to be penalised.”

“This is not just free speech at risk; it is true speech being penalised because of hurt feelings. How do you measure or standardise feelings? How can feelings be more reliable than facts? Why don’t the feelings of women matter?”

Smith reaffirmed her stance that “man-made laws can never trump the laws of nature,” stating that “no human can change sex”. She also pledged to continue the fight for the right to speak truthfully.

Apparently the judge has ruled against me. Guilty of vilification against two trans identified people.

“Orders:

1. I am satisfied that the defendant unlawfully vilified the Plaintiff … when she referred to the plaintiff as a male or a man”.

Read it again.

Stay tuned ….… pic.twitter.com/LsxM5iFAW5

— Kirralie Smith (@KirralieS) August 26, 2025

Smith’s Guilt Assumed from Outset

The decision has sparked widespread concern among advocates for women’s sport and civil liberties.

Replying to Kirralie Smith’s announcement of the decision on X, Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming wrote, “Truth is illegal now.”

Women’s rights campaigner Rachael Wong called the ruling “utterly absurd and deeply concerning for anyone who cares about freedom of speech, truth, and women’s sex-based rights.”

Sall Grover, CEO and founder of the networking app Giggle for Girls, also weighed in. “This is ridiculous. It’s not vilification to call a man a man. It’s the truth,” she wrote. Grover is currently appealing a Federal Court ruling that found her guilty of discrimination for allowing only women to use her women-only platform.

The initial ruling against Grover and the decisions against Smith have set a strong precedent in Australia in which stating biological facts creates a legal liability, even in debates about fairness and safety in female-only spaces.

Notably, the decisions to date have conferred female pronouns for male-born plaintiffs and accepted their gender self-identity as fact, effectively presuming the validity of their claims — and the defendants’ guilt — from the outset.

While Freund stressed that her judgments did not determine whether male-born players should compete in women’s sport, her decision to penalise Smith’s commentary on this question effectively shields the issue from public scrutiny.

In an email sent on Wednesday, Kirralie Smith told supporters that she will “study the decisions more next week, consult with my legal team and provide more information then”.

“As always, your support means the world to me,” she added.

Penalties for the Blanch case will be determined in early November. Proceedings in the Dennis matter have been deferred, with a further hearing scheduled for October 27.

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Image courtesy of Kirralie Smith / X.