Australia state to continue pause on paediatric gender hormone therapy pending review News
Laurel Wreath of Victors, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Australia state to continue pause on paediatric gender hormone therapy pending review

The state government of Queensland, Australia, initiated on Thursday an independent review into the use of pediatric gender hormone therapy. While the final report is due by November 30, the pause on new patients under 18 accessing hormone therapies within the public healthcare system will remain in place until the review is completed.

Professor Ruth Vine, Australia’s first Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health and Victoria’s Chief Psychiatrist, will lead the review. The review will consider, amongst other things, the quality of outcomes for the use of Stage 1 and Stage 2 hormones for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria and the strength of the evidence base for using Stage 1 and Stage 2 hormones to treat gender dysphoria. The review will also take into account legal and ethical considerations, such as social impacts on clinical practice and informed consent.

Previously, an independent evaluation of Queensland paediatric gender services finalized under the former labour government in July 2024 concluded that the service provides safe, evidence-based care consistent with national and international guidelines.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls initially announced the pausing of prescriptions of stage 1 (puberty suppression) and stage 2 (gender-affirming) hormone therapies on 28 January 2025. According to the minister, the immediate pause was due to concerns over the apparently unauthorized provision of gender services by the Cairns Sexual Health Service, which may have resulted in approximately 17 children receiving hormone therapy inconsistent with the nationally accepted clinical guidelines. The minister also pointed to the ongoing debate around the evidence supporting the effectiveness of stage 1 and stage 2 treatments for people under the age of 18 with gender dysphoria.

Children currently receiving treatment from the Queensland Children’s Gender Service will be exempt from the pause. However, there are around 491 children in Queensland waiting to access these treatments. The Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody criticised the pause, stating:

Trans and gender diverse children and young people should feel supported to affirm their gender by the adults in their lives and health care providers. This pause has the potential to harm the physical and mental wellbeing of children in Queensland who are currently awaiting care … Above all, we must ensure we are putting the wellbeing of trans and gender diverse children and young people first.

The decision to undertake the review was influenced by the tightening of regulations around prescribing hormone therapy to children and adolescents in several European countries and the UK. Notably, the UK undertook a similar review which found amongst other things, that there is weak evidence for early puberty suppression and its impact on gender dysphoria, and mental or psycho-social health. Following the review, the UK has placed an indefinite ban on the prescription of puberty blockers for people under age 18. Relatedly, US President Trump has also imposed restrictions on access to gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth.

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