Trans rallies in Brisbane, Cairns protest Queensland’s puberty blocker pause

Nationwide trans rallies are expected to protest one state government’s move to review the delivery of controversial puberty blockers and hormone therapies.

Trans youth and their families are expected to protest in Brisbane, Cairns and across the country today against the Queensland government’s decision to pause the delivery of puberty blockers and hormone therapies to minors.

The rallies, booked for 10am, will call on Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls to reconsider his decision last week to pause the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies for children with gender dysphoria pending a fresh review of the controversial treatment pathways.

Brisbane mum Hannah said the change in policy had been “incredibly stressful” for her family.

“My 15-year-old has been on puberty blockers for four years and was just days away from going on HRT,” she said.

“Now that can’t happen. Like all teenagers, she just wants to look like her friends at school and express who she really is.”

“We’ve already had to jump through a lot of hoops, working with a large team of experienced medical professionals, to get our daughter the care she needs.”

Mr Nicholls said the move had been sparked by “clinical governance issues” in the Cairns health service.

“There is contested evidence surrounding the benefits of stage 1 (puberty blockers) and stage 2 hormone therapy for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria emerging from studies throughout the world,” Mr Nicholls said in announcing his decision.

The rallies are expected to protest Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls’ decision to pause the delivery of puberty blockers to children.Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

“France, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden have all tightened regulations around prescribing hormone therapy to children and adolescents.

“More recently, the United Kingdom has changed legislation to restrict the prescription and supply of puberty blockers to children … Queensland has not yet undertaken its own review of the evidence for stage 1 and stage 2 hormone therapy.”

As of June 2024, 547 children and adolescents were actively receiving care at the Queensland Children’s Gender Service.

“There is a need to maintain confidence in public health services, particularly those delivered by Queensland Health for children,” Mr Nicholls said.

RACGP immediate past chair of specific interests transgender and gender-diverse healthcare Michelle Dutton has expressed alarm about Mr Nicholls’ decision.

“This decision is being framed as being about protecting young people, but this kind of blatantly political decision, and the media coverage that results, significantly increases hostility towards trans people in the community,” she said.

“This will be a very hard time for GPs who look after trans young people in Queensland.”

The federal government has also announced a fresh independent review into trans healthcare, with interim advice on the use of puberty blockers expected in the middle of 2026.

The reviews coincide with a petition from Women’s Forum Australia, an advocacy group that is critical of transgender beliefs, calling on the federal government to launch a public inquiry into youth gender medicine in Australia and pause all medical gender transitions for children and young people until the end of the inquiry.

“Recent developments globally have exposed serious concerns about the ‘gender-affirming’ approach to treating gender-confused youth and there is now a bipartisan consensus in many countries that major changes to practice in this area are needed,” the petition states.

“Medical interventions including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries can cause irreversible harm, including physiological damage, issues concerning brain development and social and relational difficulties.

Originally published as Trans rallies in Brisbane, Cairns protest Queensland’s puberty blocker pause