Children in the Northern Territory will no longer have access to publicly-funded puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones after Health Minister Steve Edgington announced the government would follow Queensland’s lead in suspending the treatments.
In a statement released on Sunday, Mr Edgington said that — along with Queensland — the NT’s government’s new policy was consistent with jurisdictions such as New Zealand and some European countries.
He said the changes would affect “a handful of young teenagers” who had been accessing the treatments through the NT’s public health system.
Queensland pause on puberty blockers for trans teenagers to continue
“Territory kids deserve to grow up free from these dangerous, ideologically-driven practices with irreversible consequences,” he said.
“The Territory’s public health focus will remain on adolescent mental health services.”
The move follows pressure from the Australian Christian Lobby, which presented a petition to the government in October 2024, calling on it to “suspend all medical and surgical transitioning for children in the NT”.
In a letter in response to the petition tabled in parliament in April, Mr Edgington said NT Health did not provide surgical treatments for young people with gender dysphoria.
“NT Health provides evidence based clinical and support services and care in line with the policy and the Australian Standards of Care and Treatment Guidelines for Trans and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents,” he wrote at the time.
“NT Health provides a specialised adolescent gender clinic for young people up to 18 years of age.”
Top End Pride committee member Bhushan Joshi was among those to sign the statement against suspending adolescent gender treatments. (ABC News: Lillian Rangiah)
In a joint statement in response to the 2024 petition, transgender advocates — including Top End Pride — said being trans or gender diverse “does not represent a mental health condition”.
“There is powerful evidence that gender affirming support, including affirming medical care, when required, protects the mental and physical wellbeing of transgender, gender diverse, and non-binary individuals,” they said.
“Political interventions directed towards hindering access to these essential services strip individuals of their basic human right to equitable healthcare.”