Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) Feed Items

This policy statement affirms APA’s support for unobstructed access to health care and evidence-based clinical care for transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary children, adolescents, and adults.

Furthermore, this policy statement addresses the spread of misleading and unfounded narratives that mischaracterize gender dysphoria and affirming care, likely resulting in further stigmatization, marginalization, and lack of access to psychological and medical supports for transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary individuals.

https://auspath.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/APA-statement-on-affirming-evidence.pdf

The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) was established in 2009 and is Australia’s peak body for professionals involved in the health, rights and wellbeing of all trans people – binary and non-binary. The AusPATH membership comprises over 600 experienced professionals working across Australia.

The NHS England has recently released a Clinical Policy advising that “Puberty suppressing hormones (PSH) are not available as a routine commissioning treatment option for treatment of children and young people who have gender incongruence / gender dysphoria.” In this policy document, it is stated that a Policy Working Group commissioned by the NHS has concluded “that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty suppression hormones to make the treatment routinely available at this time”. They recommend “that access to puberty suppressing hormones for children and young people with gender incongruence/dysphoria should only be available as part of research”.

AusPATH has significant concerns about this decision by NHS England, and the negative impact that it is likely to have on young gender diverse people in the UK. It is our opinion that the NHS England is undertaking an enormous and unprecedented public health experiment on children with no safeguards. 

The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) was established in 2009 and is Australia’s peak body for professionals involved in the health, rights and wellbeing of all trans people – binary and non-binary. The AusPATH membership comprises over 600 experienced professionals working across Australia.

AusPATH firmly stands by the ethical responsibility of medical professionals to offer unbiased, evidence-based care to all individuals, regardless of personal beliefs.

Recently, it has come to our attention that two doctors, utilising their professional status, have publicly called for the cancellation of the Orange Rainbow Festival. Their statements, invoking their medical credentials, have misrepresented research and practice surrounding gender-affirming care.

AusPATH calls upon the Australian Health Ethics Committee to conduct a thorough review of the conflicts of interest among doctors who let their personal moral or religious judgments influence their professional obligations. Healthcare professionals must prioritise the well-being of their patients, adhering to the highest standards of evidence-based care without letting personal biases interfere.

https://doi.org/10.3390/children10020314

The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) was established in 2009 and is Australia’s peak body for professionals involved in the health, rights, and wellbeing of all trans people – binary and non-binary. The AusPATH membership comprises over 450 experienced professionals working across Australia.

Elkadi et al (2023) recently published a research paper in the journal ‘Children’, entitled Gender Distress: A Prospective Follow-Up Study (heretofore referred to as “the study”). The AusPATH board and its membership have serious concerns about the misrepresentation of data presented in this research, as well in the choice of language used throughout the paper, which demonstrate a clear agenda of the research team to undermine the provision of gender affirming care to transgender children and adolescents. This response will outline our major concerns with this research article.

AusPATH has concerns about the methodology used and reporting of data in the study. The headline reporting of an “overall desistance rate” of 22.1% of participants does not accurately represent the cohort as, from the authors’ own published data, the following can be seen:

In August 2022, AusPATH issued a position statement about the interim report of the Independent Review of gender identity services for children and young people. NHS England has now issued an interim service specification for “Phase 1” services pending establishment of new regional services in England. https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/specialised-commissioning/gender-dysphoria-services/

AusPATH has major reservations about this interim service specification.

To help make the upcoming submission process for the MSAC 1754 survey easier, AusPATH and LHA have put together this two part guide.

PART ONE: Overview of MSAC Application 1754, which proposes to include surgical procedures for gender affirmation on the medical benefits scheme (MBS).

PART TWO: How to write a powerful response to MSAC. The voice of lived experience is critical in helping assessors of MSAC 1754 understand why equitable access to gender affirming surgery is so important. Your say is important!

Living True, Living Better, a vital evidence-based resource pack countering harmful disinformation about gender-affirming healthcare for transgender young people, created by Transcend Australia, in partnership with AusPATH and supported by Equality Australia and LGBTIQ+ Health Australia. 

This comprehensive resource pack provides accurate information to guide decision-making for families, caregivers, and health providers. 

The AMA affirms that people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and/or Gender Diverse, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Sistergirl, and Brotherboy (LGBTQIASB+) in Australia thrive in healthcare environments where they feel safe, affirmed, respected and understood.

https://auspath.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LGBTQIASB-Position-Statement-2023-1.pdf

Contact information: 

AusPATH (Australian Professional Association for Trans Health) 

Info@auspath.org.au 

Release Date: 

31 March 2023 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Over the past few weeks Australia has seen a series of increasingly distressing events and 

actions taken by individuals and groups against our trans community, in cities and towns around the nation. These events represent an elevation in violence against trans people, and the LGBTQI+ community at large. 

AusPATH would like to firmly state our position in support of the rights of all trans people—binary and non-binary—to safety, health, and autonomy. 

AusPATH rejects and condemns the transphobic statements and beliefs espoused by anti-trans activists and members of the far-right. We reject and condemn the violence demonstrated not just by members of the public, but also by members of the police, towards trans rights protesters.

AusPath 2023 Conference

2 – 4 November 2023, Melbourne, Australia

The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health (AusPATH) is pleased to host the AusPATH 2023 Conference in collaboration with the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA).

This three-day face-to-face conference will be hosted at Pullman on the Park in East Melbourne on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country from 2-4 November 2023. Thursday 2 November will be dedicated to interactive workshops, and Friday 3 November to Saturday 4 November will be the main scientific program days.