Australia reviews transgender treatment guidelines as Queensland pauses hormone therapies for minor

As the Queensland government puts an immediate pause on new trans patients under the age of 18 from accessing hormone therapies in the state’s public health system, the federal Health Minister Mark Butler has stepped in to urge a considered national response that considers the latest evidence.

It follows the United Kingdom’s move to ban puberty blockers for under-18s with gender dysphoria indefinitely, except for use in clinical trials.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) in the UK had published independent expert advice that there was “currently an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children”.

“We want young people and their families to receive the best health care, led by the best available evidence and wraparound support,’’ Mr Butler said.

“Governments also have a clear responsibility...
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