MILDURA councillor for gender equality Helen Healy and Mallee Pride president Hannah Sycamore have praised a move by the Victorian Government that no longer requires trans and gender-diverse Victorians wanting to alter the sex recorded on their birth certificate to undergo sex-affirmation surgery.

The new laws, brought into effect on Wednesday, mean applicants will be able to self-nominate the sex listed in their birth registration as male, female, or any other gender-diverse or non-binary descriptor of their choice.