Open letter
to QLD Government

To the Queensland Government,

We are a coalition of health and medical professionals, community organisations and legal experts writing to express our deep dismay at the Queensland Government’s decision to double down on its ban denying healthcare to young trans people. 

Denying care is not a neutral act — doing nothing is not harm-free. In fact, denying care is the one course of action guaranteed to cause lasting harm. 

The Government’s misuse of 44(1) of the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 (Qld) not only contradicts the clear intent of the law but also violates the wishes of young people, parents and the broader community.  

Politicians have no place overriding parents and dictating private medical decisions made between patients, their families and qualified clinicians. 

The government claims to be acting in the public interest, which requires promoting health and safety, improving service quality for all Queenslanders, and protecting vulnerable people from harm. 

And yet it is the most vulnerable members of the public who are hurt the most by this ban on such essential health care. 

True public interest lies in ensuring every young person can access the care they need, when they need it. 

Every young person in Queensland is entitled to receive medical care without political interference.  

Queensland now stands alone as the only state removing this vital support from young people— a decision that defies expert medical consensus, global guidelines, community expectations and the government’s own human rights obligations. 

An independent Queensland review conducted just last year confirmed that gender-affirming care is both safe and effective, and delivered to a high standard at the Queensland Children’s Gender Service. Yet instead of acting on that evidence, the government has chosen to ignore it. 

The Queensland government has also maintained access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies for young people who are not trans — even as access remains restricted for those who are. 

The evidence on the benefits of gender affirming medical care is clear and well established. Puberty blockers and hormone treatments — for the small number of young people who need them — are essential and life-saving healthcare. 

Denying access to gender affirmation will cause immeasurable damage to those young people who need it, increasing the risk of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide. 

Parents are rightly terrified about what this will mean for their children.  

To undermine young people, parents, families and health professionals across the state and restrict or deny access to this care is a politically motivated move that endangers further the already marginalised and vulnerable Queenslanders whom the government is supposed to protect. 

In a landmark decision, the Queensland Supreme Court ruled that the government’s Health Services Directive to enact the ban was unlawful. To immediately reinstate the ban under a different power ignores the clear wishes of community and all credible medical evidence.  

We urge the Queensland Government to immediately reverse this dangerous and damaging ban in accordance with the best interests of children, wishes of parents, the evidence of experts, and the rule of law.