This article was originally published by Equality Australia. You can find the original article here.
8 February, 2025 – Medical experts and human rights groups have voiced their support for the parents and young people calling on the Queensland Government to resume access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
Thousands of people gathered on Saturday at capital cities and regional centres around the country for a National Day of Action to urge the Queensland Government to reinstate care for trans youth.
New patients under the age of 18 who are trans and gender diverse are currently not able to access hormone treatments in Queensland’s public health system following a shock decision by the state government last week.
Eloise Brook, CEO of AusPATH (the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health) said medical practitioners followed guidelines established through research and clinical evidence.
“Hormone treatments for the small number of young people who need them are essential health care,” she said.
“The evidence shows that denying access to this care will cause young people immeasurable trauma, contributing to depression, anxiety and in some cases self-harm.
“The Queensland government should restore care immediately and await the findings of the federal government review being appropriately handed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which is widely recognised in Australia and internationally for its rigorous, evidence-based approach in developing clinical guidelines.”
Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown said the Queensland Government’s decision ignored the current evidence base and expert medical consensus and was out of step with service delivery in all other Australian states and territories.
“Access to healthcare is a basic and fundamental human right,” she said.
“These are deeply personal decisions that are best made by the patient, their parents and the doctors who have cared for them over many years.
“Denying one group of people access to healthcare is discriminatory and, in this case, especially cruel given we are talking about an already vulnerable group of young people who face barriers to acceptance most of us can’t begin to imagine.”
Media contact: Tara Ravens 0408 898 154, [email protected]
