A recent court case has revealed that new patients to the unnamed clinic were informed by letter in January 2021 of delays to their treatment, pending a review of the clinic’s policies. In the interim, the clinic referred all new applications for treatment to the Family Court.
Queensland legal academic Patrick Parkinson told The Australian the state government is “essentially saying they are going to use the court as a safeguard”.
This marks a change of direction for Australian policy, which, for a number of years, has been trending unchecked towards eroding all protections for children and their families.
Where the UK refers all cases of gender dysphoria to a single specialist clinic, any Australian GP is allowed to prescribe puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for children over the age of 16.
Children referred to a gender clinic (Australia has several) can access these treatments much younger. The Australian Treatment Guidelines for gender dysphoria do not even require parental consent.
The news of this decision will be welcomed by the many parents who feel powerless in the face of the enormous pressure to medically “affirm” a new gender identity for their child.
Where the increasingly numerous testimonies of “de-transitioners” didn’t make the gender clinics think twice, it seems that the potential for legal liability down the road is having at least some impact.
Source: Gender clinics in Australia seeking court oversight for new patients – Binary