A Queensland government-ordered report on the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies in the treatment of transgender adolescents is due tomorrow but might never be publicly released.
Early this year the LNP asked Professor Ruth Vine, Victoria’s former chief psychiatrist, to lead a review of “the evidence base” for use of the therapies for children with gender dysphoria.
It followed the Crisafulli government’s snap freeze on prescriptions of the medications for new child patients in the public system, pending the review.
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Sunday is the deadline for the so-called Vine Report to be handed to Queensland Health director-general Dr David Rosengren.
When asked on Thursday if the report would then be made public, Health Minister Tim Nicholls said it would be “considered by cabinet”.
“I don’t want to pre-empt the decision of my cabinet colleagues,” Mr Nicholls said.
Premier David Crisafulli also would not commit to releasing the review.
“First of all, I want to consider it,” he said on Thursday.
Mother challenges legality of puberty blocker freeze in Queensland
When asked by journalists if the report would determine the future use of puberty blockers in Queensland’s public health system, Mr Crisafulli said: “It’s a really important part. That’s why we’ve embarked on it.”
A newly formed group called Parents of Trans Kids Speak Out told ABC News the puberty blocker ban “will only increase the suffering of an already marginalised population”.
The parent of an 11-year-old trans child impacted by the restriction called for the Vine Review to be publicly released.
“If the Crisafulli government now suppresses their own evidence review, we can only draw the logical conclusion that they fear what it says,” she said.
What led to the blocker freeze and Vine Review?
The statewide public health blocker ban was implemented in late January in response to a preliminary review into paediatric gender care delivered at the Cairns Sexual Health Service.
Snap new ban on puberty blockers for transgender youth
Mr Nicholls said at the time, the local review found the clinic had delivered “an apparently unauthorised paediatric gender service”.
“The service was delivered to 42 paediatric gender services clients, 17 of whom were prescribed Stage 1 or Stage 2 hormone therapy,” Minister Nicholls said in a statement on January 28.
A health service investigation into the Cairns clinic was due by June 30 this year but is yet to be released.
Mr Crisafulli said on Thursday “everybody across Queensland would feel very concerned” about the Cairns allegations.
“So, we did the right thing and paused that [puberty blockers] and then we’ve conducted a review, which will make sure that an outcome comes out that can make sure the kids are safe and make sure that people are treated with respect,” Mr Crisafulli said on Thursday.
Premier David Crisafulli also would not commit to releasing the review. (ABC News)
Most young patients treated for gender dysphoria in Queensland are cared for by the Brisbane-based Queensland Children’s Gender Service (QCGS) which provides multidisciplinary care.
In mid-2024, an independent report into the QCGS found no evidence patients or families were “hurried or coerced” into decisions about medical intervention and about one-third of the patients assessed by the team were prescribed medical treatment.
A divisive international debate
Medical groups in Australia and overseas are divided on how to care for children with gender dysphoria, or psychological distress over their gender.
In April 2024, a 388-page report written by British paediatrician Hiliary Cass concluded “there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions” regarding gender-affirming care.
As a result of the Cass Review, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service stopped prescribing puberty blockers to adolescents unless the patient was part of a clinical trial.
The Cass Review has been released. Here’s what it found
On November 24, the British Medical Journal confirmed the approval of two research studies that will assess the “risks and benefits” of giving puberty blockers to young people.
The first study, to be known as the Pathways trial, will be conducted by researchers from Kings College London, which will aim to recruit 226 children who will be given puberty blockers.
Also this week, the Australian Doctors’ Federation called on the nation’s political leaders to follow Queensland’s lead and ban puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery for all people aged under 18.
The federation is a group of doctors — independent from the larger Australian Medical Association — which describes itself as “dedicated to protecting the independence of the doctor-patient relationship”. It does not disclose membership numbers.
The federation also supported a joint letter to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, by the Australian Medical Professional Society and the Nurses Professional Association of Queensland, to discontinue the development of national guidelines for the care of children with gender dysphoria.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has previously said he expects interim advice on the use of puberty blockers to be completed by mid-2026. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)
In January, Mr Butler asked the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to develop the new guidelines with the help of an expert committee, including people with lived experience and informed by public consultation and international research.
He said at the time he expected interim advice on the use of puberty blockers to be completed by mid-2026.
But in this week’s letter to Mr Butler, general practitioner Louise Kirby urged him to discontinue the NHMRC’s work and instead order “a full inquiry or royal commission into the current practices being referred to as ‘gender care’ in Australia”.
That view is at odds with the Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ) branch.
Branch president Dr Nick Yim said the AMAQ awaited the NHMRC “evidence-based national guidelines” currently in development.
Dr Yim said the AMAQ called on Mr Nicholls to ensure the Vine Review was released “transparently, compassionately and in a considered manner”.
“We urge the government to consult with the trans and gender diverse community and treating clinicians prior to the report’s publication to ensure that it does not perpetrate the harms currently being caused to patients, their families and health teams,” he said in a statement.
“Health decisions for individual young people must be made in accordance with the best evidence available, weighing the potential benefits and risks.”
