- Gender Transition in Minors
At MDA National, we are committed to protecting our Members and the patients they serve. As a mutual membership organisation that has been supporting Members and promoting good medical practice across Australia for 100 years, we have doctors embedded at every level of our organisation, to help inform and advise us on what we do, every day.
In 2023, we revised our policy in relation to the treatment of gender transition in minors. The update in policy was in response to the ongoing uncertainty around a recognised model of gender affirming care in Australia and the significant increase in risk of medico-legal claims without an agreed upon and accredited model of care.
MDA National continues to support and cover practitioners providing care for patients with gender dysphoria.
Gender transition treatment – How we continue to support you
See below how MDA National supports Members providing care to patients undergoing gender transition, where the cover applies and where it doesn’t.
| Summary of cover | Civil claims | Investigations or inquiries |
|---|---|---|
| initiation and ongoing prescribing of puberty blockers to patients under 18 for the purposes of treating gender dysphoria | ✔ | ✔ |
| treatment of patients with gender dysphoria who are 18 years or over | ✔ | ✔ |
| counselling support you provide to patients considering social or legal gender transition | ✔ | ✔ |
| assessment of suitability of gender transition and initial prescribing of cross-sex hormones undertaken prior to 1 July 2023 | ✔ | ✔ |
| referring patients under the age of 18 years to a multidisciplinary gender transition clinic | ✔ | ✔ |
| recommending or initiating gender-affirming surgery for a patient under 18 where there is a diagnosis of congenital variation of sex characteristics and surgery has been deemed appropriate by a specialist Surgeon | ✔ | ✔ |
| recommending or initiating gender-affirming surgery for a patient under 18 years other than the above specific scenario | ✖ | ✔ |
| initiating prescribing of cross-sex hormones for patients under the age of 18 where the patient has a diagnosis of a congenital variation of sex characteristics and hormone therapy is deemed appropriate by a specialist Endocrinologist | ✔ | ✔ |
| initiating prescribing of cross-sex hormones for patients under the age of 18 other than the above specific scenario | ✖ | ✔ |
In January 2025, the Australian Government called for a comprehensive national review of the standards of care and treatment guidelines for gender diverse children and adolescents, following advice from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Our policy considers the ongoing lack of consensus around the guidelines for a recognised model of care for the treatment of gender transition in patients under 18 years of age which increases the likelihood of a medico-legal claim against practitioners. Further with regard to patients under 18, the Courts are likely to allow claims for many years after the statutes would normally allow, even with the consent of the parent(s) and /or the family court.
We continue to thoroughly review the medico-legal circumstances and are focusing only on those areas that we believe present the greatest risk of future claims for our Members. In this context this is doctors providing irreversible treatments to patients under 18 who undergo medical or surgical transitions in private, non-publicly indemnified settings.
As a doctor-owned organisation, we must act in the best interest of all our Members with respect to future claims, paid by the broader MDA National membership, which is made up largely of private practising doctors.
We will continue to scan the landscape nationally and internationally for information that will provide certainty about the treatment guidelines. Our policy coverage is reviewed regularly based on emerging claims data and changes in government policy or standard of care guidelines.
MDA National reiterates that we continue to support and cover practitioners providing care for patients with gender dysphoria. We will continue to support Members treating children in this field where they do not assess suitability for surgical gender transition or prescribe cross sex hormones. We will provide cover to practitioners providing gender-affirming interventions that commenced after the patient turned 18 years in a private, non-publicly indemnified setting.
Have a question?
For any Member Services related queries, please contact us via email at peaceofmind@mdanational.com.au. If you have any media related inquiries, kindly email us at brandcomms@mdanational.com.au.
