NT schools advised to assist trans kids as young as 14

Northern Territory schools were to be advised to help children as young as 14 transition their ­gender without their parents’ ­consent under draft guidelines that have now been scrapped.

Northern Territory Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison said the guidelines would not become NT government policy. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

Northern Territory schools were to be advised to help children as young as 14 transition their ­gender without their parents’ ­consent under draft education ­department guidelines that have now been scrapped.

The draft guidelines – sent to some groups last year for consultation – offered schools advice on how to help children who were questioning their gender.

“Circumstances may arise where a child requests to change their name and gender without the support of their parents and without consulting a counsellor or medical practitioners,” the draft guidelines say.

“The decision to proceed should be made based on the school’s duty of care for the child’s wellbeing and their level of maturity to make their own decisions about their needs. In general, if the child is under the age of 14, parental consent is necessary.

“A child aged 14 and above may be considered a mature minor who has the capacity to make their own decisions. This will depend on their level of maturity, understanding, intelligence, level of independence and ability to express their own wishes.

“Seek the advice of a colleague, health-promoting nurse or the school psychologist if unsure of whether a minor is competent.”

A spokeswoman for the Northern Territory Labor government last night said this advice was “absolutely 100 per cent not government policy”.

The government has been forced to distance itself from the recommendations of its own education department after the draft guidelines were first revealed by Sky News on Monday. The guidelines also advised schools to hold “non-gendered” sports days and told teachers they should avoid using terms like “boys and girls” in case they upset children who were questioning their gender.

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese said he did not agree with the advice in the guidelines.

“Girls should be able to play sport against girls and boys should be able to play sport against boys,” he said. “And that … is covered by the Sex Discrimination Act and sports, currently, are in control of this issue.”

Northern Territory Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Manison said the guidelines would not become NT government policy.

“I want to be very clear here, that we will not be banning the use of the word boys or girls in schools,” she said. “We will not be stopping having girls’ races or boys’ races or girls’ sports teams or boys’ sports teams.”

She said the guidelines were an outdated document, although the government has not yet provided a copy of its updated guidelines.