Table of Contents
Summarised by Centrist
A Queensland government-ordered investigation has found children as young as 12 were commenced on puberty blockers at a north Queensland gender clinic, in some cases “without adequate documentation of assessments or monitoring.”
A December 2024 review of 17 patient records found “major deficiencies, including incomplete clinical notes, missing baseline tests, absence of consent documentation, long prescription intervals, and lack of paediatric or mental health input.”
The report states, “Some children as young as 12 were commenced on puberty blockers, with others on testosterone, without adequate documentation of assessments or monitoring.” In certain cases, youths as young as 17 were injected with testosterone without parental knowledge.
The investigation found little consistent documentation of Gillick competence assessments, which are meant to determine a child’s capacity to consent to medical treatment. In several cases, assessments were not recorded. In one instance, a child was marked “Gillick competent” despite parents raising concerns about multiple mental health issues.
The report further described cultural and governance concerns within the service, stating that “staff blended activism with clinical care,” and that parents who objected to treatment pathways were “basically alienated … by the psychologists.” It also noted that when medical staff raised concerns, “instead of triggering closer scrutiny of adherence to guidelines, the issue wasn’t followed up.”
All of the report’s 21 recommendations have been accepted in principle by Queensland Health.
