Transgender athlete Hannah Mouncey, is planning to muscle into the 1^st grade women’s AFL in Canberra. Mouncey is a 6’2 very strong biological male who identifies as a woman. Legal action is pending if the officials won’t meet demands.

Mouncey was not allowed to enter the AFLW draft in 2017, but was permitted to play at VFLW level. She now says she has no desire to play at AFLW level and is seeking to play at first-grade level in the ACT.

On Friday night, Mouncey confirmed she will begin legal proceedings - unless the issue can be resolved - based on her concerns around the AFL’s new policy revealed last October.

The three requirements in the new policy are:

- Testosterone levels to have been at or below five nmol/L for at least two years prior

- If that threshold is met, trans women and non-binary people may nominate for the AFLW Draft or apply to play in other elite competitions by providing information regarding their height, weight, bench press, 20m sprint, vertical jump, GPS data and 2km time trial

- If the application is approved, the player is required to maintain their total testosterone levels below five nmol/L, and may be required to undergo periodic testing.

Mouncey does not meet those requirements and is challenging them based on transparency and fairness.

Women have a normal range of between 0.3 and 2.4 nanomoles of testosterone. Transgender athletes such as Mouncey also benefit from the huge advantage of muscle growth, lung capacity, bone strength and height afforded by going through puberty as a biological male.

Binary spokeswoman, Kirralie Smith, said biological males have no place in women’s competitions.

“Science, common sense, safety and fairness all support women having a separate category to men when it comes to sport. Biological male athletes have an unfair advantage. Medication and surgery doesn’t magically turn a man into a woman – it results in only superficial changes. If necessary, create a third category for trans athletes but leave women’s sport alone!”