Federal Health Minister Greg HuntCredit:Alex Ellinghausen
“It is important we have a nationally consistent standard of care that is evidence-based and with appropriate safeguards to protect the interests of the patient,” Mr Hunt toldThe Sunday Age through his spokesman this week.
“In recognition of the risks of further harm to young people,the government does not intend to establish a national inquiry on this matter.”
The comments come after the Health Minister received high-level advice last month into the clinical treatment of children with gender dysphoria — the distress one feels when their biological sex doesn’t match their gender identity.
That advice,by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians,was sought by the minister last year amid growing pressure from some doctors,Christian lobby groups and the Murdoch press,who were highly critical of the “gender-affirming” treatment that is often used to support young people who feel trapped in the wrong body.
Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital is home to Australia's largest gender clinic.Credit:Darrian Traynor
While some had called for a national probe,the RACP warned Mr Hunt that this “would not increase the scientific evidence available regarding gender dysphoria but would further harm vulnerable patients and their families through increased media and public attention”.
The college also endorsed the affirmation model,which is used at clinics such as Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital Gender Service,saying it"strongly supports expert clinical care that is non-judgmental,supportive and welcoming".