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Trans and gender diverse young people deserve dignity, respect and access to the evidence-based healthcare they need to thrive.
Yet persistent attempts to restrict access to gender affirming care for trans young people undermine their rights to be healthy, treated fairly and have a say in decisions that affect them.
We need to protect the right of young people and their families to access safe, timely and evidence-based gender affirming care, guided by expert medical and mental health professionals.
SA Parliament rejects criminalisation of trans youth healthcare
Sep 2026
Thousands rally against QLD trans youth health ban
Feb 2025
Trans and gender diverse people are people whose gender identities are different from the sex they were registered as at birth.
The World Health Organisation describes this as ‘gender incongruence’ – a clear, ongoing mismatch between the gender a person knows themselves to be and their assigned sex.
For teenagers and adults, gender incongruence involves a lasting realisation that their true gender is different from the sex on their birth certificate and often leads to a desire to live and be accepted as a person of the experienced gender.
For young children before puberty, gender incongruence means a child deeply and consistently identifies as a gender different from the one assigned at birth over a long period.
Being trans or gender diverse is not a mental health condition, but are a part of the natural spectrum of human diversity.
The ABS estimates that 0.7% of South Australians aged 16 years and older are trans or gender diverse. No data is collected on the number of transgender people aged 15 years or younger.
Gender affirming care is an approach to healthcare that supports people to understand and express their gender identity. It aims to ease the distress of gender dysphoria by helping people align their social expression, legal identity, or physical traits with their gender.
Gender affirmation is a deeply individual process and there’s many different ways trans and gender diverse people affirm their gender. This can include:
- Social affirmation like starting to use your chosen name and pronouns, coming out, wearing new clothing or cutting your hair
- Legal affirmation means updating your name or gender marker at work, school, or on forms of identity
- Medical affirmation describes forms of affirmation we might do with the help of doctors or health professionals, including puberty blockers or hormone therapies.
Find out more about gender affirming care on Healthdirect or TransHub.
Puberty blockers are medicines given at the start of puberty to temporarily suppress your hormones and pause the physical changes of puberty, such as breast growth or voice deepening (Healthdirect).
Puberty blockers have been used since the early 1980s to treat early-onset puberty in young children. They have also been used for young people experiencing gender incongruence since the 1990s (Murdoch Research Institute).
Puberty blockers are reversible. They temporarily alleviate distress and allow time for young people to develop and understand their gender identity.
Puberty blockers are most effective when they are started at the beginning of puberty before unwanted physical changes occur, usually from the age of 8 to 14 years.
Like all medications, puberty blockers carry risks including reductions in bone density and fertility, and changes in adult height.
For more information about puberty blockers, see Healthdirect.
Hormone therapies cause both reversible and permanent changes to your body.
Feminising oestrogen-based hormones can cause breast growth, a more feminine body shape and decreased libido.
Masculinising testosterone-based hormones can cause a deeper voice, more face and body hair and a more masculine body shape.
For more information about hormone therapies, see Healthdirect.
No. Gender affirming surgery is generally not available for people in Australia under the age of 18 (AHRC).
In exceptional circumstances, young people with severe dysphoria about their chest may access top surgery if they, their parents and their treating medical professionals agree the treatment is appropriate (HLRC, Re Matthew, 2018).
For more information about your legal and medical rights while under 18, visit TransHub’s Under 18s page.
Gender affirming medical treatments, provided alongside comprehensive psychological assessment and counseling, are supported by major medical organisations including the Australian Medical Association, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the Endocrine Society and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP).
Several studies have found significantly improved psychological outcomes including reduced suicidal thoughts and actions (Murdoch Research Institute). Other studies have found no difference, and questioned the long-term effects of treatment.
According to the Murdoch Research Institute –
Randomised controlled trials are typically considered the gold-standard way to study the effectiveness of medical interventions.
To date, there have been no randomised controlled trials of puberty blockers for transgender adolescents, which has led some to label this treatment as experimental. However, conducting such trials of hormonal interventions in transgender youth is problematic, as it would be unethical to withhold treatment for research purposes.
It’s common not to have data from randomised controlled trials in paediatric care more broadly.
Australia’s expert body in health and medical research, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) are currently developing national clinical guidelines on care for trans young people, expected in November 2026.
The NHMRC’s review will look at the latest evidence to ensure treatments such as puberty suppressants are safe, effective, and based on best practice. Interim advice is expected in mid-2026, with full guidelines due by 2028. The process includes expert input, public consultation, and a focus on transparency and evidence.
TransHub is a national resource hub for trans people, their families, friends and health practitioners.
Trans Health SA provides a directory of health practitioners who support trans and gender diverse people across South Australia.
Women’s and Children’s Gender Diversity Service are the main provider of specialist care, mental health support, and medical treatment for young people experiencing gender dysphoria in South Australia.
Transcend Australia provides free support for families of trans and gender diverse young people in Australia.
SHINE SA’s Gender Connect Country SA provides confidential support for peple who have questions about being or supporting people who are trans or gender diverse.
Resource hubs
- Health Direct, Gender incogruence
- TransHub for clinicians webpage
- The Kids, Gender Diversity research
- Orygen, Gender affirming mental health care
Evidence briefs - Transcend Australia and AusPATH. (2024) Living True, Living Better – research and evidence briefs on gender affirming care
- Sax Institute (2024), Evidence for effective interventions for children and young people with gender dysphoria
- Murdoch Research Institute (2024) What are puberty blockers? What are the benefits and risks for transgender children?
Clinical guidelines and Standards of Care - World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care
- Australian Standards of Care and Treatment Guidelines for Trans and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents
“If I was to disregard my child’s thoughts and how they were feeling, I’d lose my child.“
– Jane Russo, parent of a non-binary child (ABC News)
“When young gender-diverse people get support from family, friends, school, education, they do much better in terms of their mental health.
Their number of suicide attempts are less, their deliberate self-harm is less, and their general wellbeing is improved.
– Dr Georgie Swift, Psychiatrist at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN) (ABC News)
“I am non-binary, which means I have no gender. I am just me.
– 11-year-old Year 6 student from Adelaide (ABC News)
“We’re going to get more and more children for whom this is a diagnosis. We can’t leave these children’s lives in limbo.
– Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly (ABC News)
“She came to me and asked how do I stop it and how do I live as a girl.
I felt really, really worried because to me, at that time, I thought it was the hardest life possible she could have chosen and at that point I still thought of it as a choice.”
– Sarah, Adelaide mother of a 12-year-old transgender daughter (Sunday Mail)
“I would go into bathrooms and people would go: ‘Oh, look, there’s a boy in here, what are you doing in here?’. I thought about it and being non-binary felt more right than a boy or girl. So I stopped saying: ‘No, I’m a girl, and my style … I just refused to change it for people.
– Aud Mason-Hyde, Adelaide non-binary teenager (Vogue)
“He’s a typical 14-year-old boy,” teases his mum, Ash. “He’s probably lacking vitamin D,” she says of the time spent in front of the screen.
– Anthony, the first young person to legally change their gender identity in South Australia (The Advertiser)
“There are more role models; there’s more written and spoken about it publicly and children and their families are feeling more comfortable seeking medical services for help and advice.”
– WCHN Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services director Dr Prue McEvoy, December 2018 (Sunday Mail)
What’s happening on this issue?
Trans and gender diverse communities have advocated for many years for the South Australian Government to improve gender affirming health services. Check out the below timeline of key events.
2025
9 February 2025
Thousands of Australians rallied to protect trans youth in response to the QLD Government’s decision, including more than 500 people who gathered on the steps of SA State Parliament. (Source: ABC News Adelaide)
29 January 2025
100 public figures wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for an immediate pause on all hormone therapy for people aged 18 or younger until an independent inquiry is complete. There were 4 South Australian signatories to the letter – elected Liberal Party members Hon Heidi Girolamo MLC, Hon Ben Hood MLC, Hon Laura Henderson MLC and Senator Alex Antic. (Source: Australian Christian Lobby).
28 January 2025
QLD LNP Government announced a pause on hormone therapy for trans people aged 18 or younger, leaving 491 young people accessing services now in limbo (Source: Queensland Government).
2024
11 December 2024
Women’s and Children’s Health Network state they have implemented the model of care and are currently undertaking a review of the implementation (Source: Women’s and Children’s Health Network).
We cautiously welcome the news, and seek assurances that the review encompasses the views of consumers and expert health professionals in the field (Source: SARAA).
4 November 2024
SA Rainbow Advocacy Alliance writes to Health Minister Chris Picton MP to provide information on developments in QLD and NSW. (Source: SARAA).
19 July 2024
Queensland Government announces a funding boost of $2.6 million to the Queensland Children’s Gender Service following an independent review that found the service is safe, evidence-based and consistent with national and international guidelines. This brings
the annual budget for the service to $5.2 million each year. (Source: Queensland Government).
27 June 2024
SA Parliamentarians Heidi Girolamo MLC, Laura Henderson MLC, and Frank Pangallo MLC hosted an Australian Christian Lobby forum featuring Chloe Cole, a woman who underwent a double mastectomy and hormone treatments by age 15 in the US. (Source: Heidi Girolamo MLC)
While some people do transition and later experience regret, the rates of regret for gender affirming care are extremely rare at around 1-2% (ANZJP, 2022).
26 June 2024
7NEWS Adelaide reports that 88 children between the ages of 3-10 have been referred to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Gender Diversity in the last 2 years. (Source: 7 News Adelaide)
SA Rainbow Advocacy Alliance affirms that many trans people become aware of their gender in childhood and having a safe and affirming space for children and their families to explore their gender and receive psychosocial support is crucial to their wellbeing.
The WCH Gender Diversity Service practices in line with international standards of care which state “puberty blockers should not be implemented in prepubertal gender diverse youth” ie. children under the age of 12.
16 June 2024
Health Minister Chris Picton MP confirms view that medical decisions should be made by doctors, not by politicians. (Source: Minister for Health and Wellbeing).
19 April 2024
SA Rainbow Advocacy Alliance writes to Health Minister Chris Picton expressing concerns regarding Cass Review and continued calls for a review of gender affirming healthcare. (Source: SARAA).
10 April 2024
Hon. Frank Pangallo MLC calls on South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas and his Health Minister Chris Picton to order a review into trans gender medical treatments. (Source: Frank Pangallo MLC)
7 February 2024
Hon. Frank Pangallo MLC withdraws parliamentary motion to establish an inquiry into young people seeking assistance for gender dysphoria in South Australia after SA Labor Party, SA Greens and Hon Michelle Lensink MLC publicly committed to oppose it. (Source: The Advertiser).
6 February 2024 Trans and gender diverse South Australians urge SA MLCs to vote down inquiry into gender affirming care (Source: 9 News Adelaide, Equality Australia).
2023
15 November 2023
Hon. Frank Pangallo MLC tabled a parliamentary motion to establish an inquiry into young people seeking assistance for gender dysphoria in South Australia. (Source: Hansard)
September 2023
SA Health releases Statewide Gender Diversity Model of Care (Source: SA Health).
2022
1 June 2022
Trans community advocates meet with Health Minister Chris Picton MP. SA Health releases draft Statewide gender diversity model of care and states proposed funding for services is to be confirmed.
8 February 2022
SA Labor Party commits to improving access to gender affirming care if elected. (Source: SA Labor Party)
September 2021
SA Health publishes update on development of statewide gender diversity model of care. (Source: SA Health)
May 2021
SA Health hosts consultation on Statewide Gender Diversity model of care workshop.
2020
10 December 2020
SA Rainbow Advocacy Alliance writes to then Health Minister Hon Stephen Wade reiterating community calls for a boost to gender affirming health services. (Source: SARAA)
26 August 2020
SA Health makes confirms it was ‘reviewing a business case for an “enhanced” gender service’. (Source: ABC News)
24 May 2020
SA Rainbow Advocacy Alliance writes to then Health Minister Hon Stephen Wade MLC regarding limited specialist health services for trans and gender diverse people. (Source: SARAA)
2019
3 November 2019
Commissioner for Children and Young People releases First Port of Call Report outlining recommendations for the South Australian health care system to better meet the needs of trans and gender diverse children and young people. (Source: Commissioner for Children and Young People)
