EDIT: Turns out we won! The worry is gone. Retaining this post for future reference though.

So as an immigrant I think I’m in a dilemma and I don’t think this is something that can be taken lightly in my situation.

A bit of background is that I was born in China, came here in 2016, studied at Sydney Uni, graduated, then UNSW and decided to transition in 2021. It took me a leave of absence, in the middle of which I got PR, to finally graduate in 2025. I’m now on a 3 year contract with a uni in China (due to cost of living in Oz) and due to return here in 2028 or 2029 with SRS done and gender updated (to probably pursue a PhD). I still enter Australia sporadically to keep everything alive. I do have an emotional connection here and would really get some serious PTSD if it goes wrong.

The Giggle situation threw a spanner at me as it would significantly and negatively impact how I would live here. I am able to stealth and pass 99.9% of time in China, but the chance significantly reduces when I visit a non-East Asian country, where I get misgendered 1 out of 100 times. If things play out like that in UK, I may not feel safe to return, even Melbourne (I get discriminated there as per my post). Due to the residence requirement of a resident return visa, I may have to accept that my residency is no longer worth anything simply because who I am.

Is this a real thing to worry about or there are significantly stronger protections than I perceive? I had done an ADNSW complaint and it somehow did fix things up.