Anti-Trans Activist Kirralie Smith Loses AVO Appeal Against Transgender Soccer Player
Image: Image: Binary Australia
The New South Wales Court of Appeal has upheld a two-year Apprehended Personal Violence Order (APVO) protecting Stephanie Blanch, a transgender woman and regional soccer player, from anti-trans activist Kirralie Smith.
The ruling, delivered on August 15, 2025, also leaves in place a protective costs order ensuring Blanch will not face any liability for Smith鈥檚 legal costs.
Kirralee Smith loses APVO appeal
The case arose after Smith, who leads the anti-trans organisation Binary Australia and has a following of more than 100,000 people online, used social media to target Blanch over her participation in women鈥檚 soccer.
Judge Wass SC in the NSW District Court last year described Smith鈥檚 conduct as a 鈥渟ustained campaign of belittling, harassment and intimidation.鈥�
This included a tweet to nearly 40,000 followers calling for 鈥渕en from the Mid North Coast鈥� to assist with 鈥渢he bloke playing on the women鈥檚 team in Wingham.鈥�
Smith claimed the comment was political commentary, but Judge Wass SC called it 鈥渉ighly intimidatory,鈥� 鈥渙bjectively harassing,鈥� and 鈥渦nnecessarily cruel.鈥�
He also condemned Smith鈥檚 reference to Blanch as a 鈥渂loke in a frock,鈥� describing it as 鈥渁 personal, derogatory, humiliating and degrading statement.鈥�
The apprehended violence order taken out against Smith, ordered her not to assault, threaten, stalk, harass, intimidate, approach, or contact the woman until December 2026 and also directed that she must also not approach two mid-north coast football clubs until then.
Smith鈥檚 appeal against the APVO relied on arguments about freedom of speech and political communication, but both the District Court and the Court of Appeal found these unpersuasive. Judge Wass SC ruled that 鈥渏ust because a statement or conduct can be characterised as political, does not preclude it from being intimidation or harassment.鈥� The Court of Appeal agreed, stating, 鈥淲e would reach the same conclusion with respect to the primary judge鈥檚 finding that the conduct in making the posts involved 鈥榦ngoing behaviours which were objectively threatening.鈥欌��
Inner City Legal Centre (ICLC) Principal Solicitor Karen Beashel welcomed the outcome, saying, 鈥淎ll residents of NSW have a right to live their lives without being targeted, harassed or intimidated. The decision confirms online harassment (even if dressed as 鈥榩olitical commentary鈥�) can and will justify the making of an APVO.鈥�
The judgment also addressed the mental harm caused by such behaviour, questioning, 鈥淚f insults must be tolerated, but assaults need not be, what of intimidatory conduct of the relevant kind?鈥� and recognising 鈥渢he damaging mental effects (that such conduct) can have on individuals. 鈥onduct of the kind at issue here can also have a deleterious impact on individuals.鈥�
ICLC Criminal Solicitor Bridget O鈥橩ane said, 鈥淔ree speech does not give you a licence to bully; the law will protect people from ongoing online abuse. Replace the word 鈥榬espondent鈥� with 鈥榮tudent鈥� in the judgement and we have the daily reality for too many school kids. The courts make it clear: online harassment can and must be treated as real harm.鈥�
Judge Wass SC emphasised that a lack of physical contact does not diminish the seriousness of harassment, stating that the relevant legislation 鈥渃ontemplates 鈥榗yberbullying鈥� and therefore a species of 鈥榥on-physical鈥� molestation, allowing unwanted 鈥榩estering鈥� or 鈥榓nnoyance鈥� to be made directly to a complainant via digital means.鈥�
In June, before the appeal was heard, Justice Adamson SC granted a protective costs order ensuring Blanch would not face any financial liability for Smith鈥檚 legal costs if she lost.
Following the decision Kirralie Smith took to social media refusing to back down on her claims.
“I lost the appeal and I am still under a 2 year apprehension of violence order for identifying a male in a female soccer team. I have never named him, met him or asked others to target him” she wrote.聽
“But I guess if they can redefine the word “woman” why wouldn’t they redefine the word “violence”? This is simply an attempt to stop my advocacy. I won’t stop. Men can not be women. Men do not belong in women’s sport. Only men get upset and take women like me and to court for saying no to them.
I lost the appeal and I am still under a 2 year apprehension of violence order for identifying a male in a female soccer team.
I have never named him, met him or asked others to target him.
But I guess if they can redefine the word “woman” why wouldn’t they redefine the word鈥�
鈥� Kirralie Smith (@KirralieS)
Controversial owner of women’s dating app Sall Grover, who was also in court this month for her own appeal in the Giggle V Tickle case also took to social media to voice her support for Smith.
“Kirralie Smith has lost her appeal challenging an AVO brought against her by a male member of the 鈥渢ransgender community鈥� who was playing in a women鈥檚 sports team. 聽posted publicly available photos & called out the male in the women鈥檚 team. The male said he felt unsafe” she wrote.
Kirralie Smith has lost her appeal challenging an AVO brought against her by a male member of the 鈥渢ransgender community鈥� who was playing in a women鈥檚 sports team. posted publicly available photos & called out the male in the women鈥檚 team. The male said he felt unsafe.
鈥� Sall Grover (@salltweets)
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yes, we have the Right to Freedom of Speech but at the same time that does not give us the Right to Abuse, Humiliate and spread Hatred , Stalk someone we have never actually met. Yes, we can criticise them for what they say, we can hate them for saying, doing or authorising others to commit acts of Hatred.. I don’t know but given the seemingly large increase in the number of men an womed undergoing Gender Changing proceedures and the reported objections, especially by people whose Birth Gender is Female, that Male-to Female Transgender people should not be allowed, purely on the grounds that Males-by-Birth usually have a stronger physiology than Women, to compete against Non-Transgender Females. Is it time for Competitive Sport, just as we have Competition between Born Males between Born Males and Born Females btween Born Females and introduce Trans Males v Trans males and Trans Females v Trans Females or would that be considered to be too discriminatory?