Explosive claims that rogue gender services in north Queensland are giving kids as young as 12 puberty blockers, without consent or medical support, have sparked an independent inquiry.

Brisbane. Picture: Supplied
Queensland children as young as 12 have been prescribed puberty blockers and gender affirming hormones without proper medical support and parental consent.
The Crisafulli Government has been rocked by explosive claims that rogue gender services have been operating in Cairns, with Queensland Health now launching an independent inquiry.
“The Cairns Sexual Health Service delivered an apparently unauthorised pediatric gender service without an agreed model of care to 42 pediatric gender service clients, 17 of whom were prescribed stage one or stage two hormone therapy in a way that may not align with treatment guidelines,” Health Minister Tim Nicholls said.
Puberty blockers stop physiological changes to the body that do not fit a child’s gender identity, while the hormones go a step further and allow children to change physically and go through puberty with the gender they identify as.
The Courier-Mail can also reveal that at the same time concerns were first raised in May 2024 about the clinic operating out of its scope, an independent review into Queensland Children’s Gender Service was underway.
When the findings of this review were released in July 2024, former Health Minister Shannon Fentiman, touted the state’s pediatric gender services as providing safe, evidence-based care that was consistent with national and international guidelines.

“I welcome the findings of this report, which shows, based on the best available evidence, that our Queensland Children’s Gender Service is considered one of the best in the country,” she said at the time.
There was no mention of the Cairns Sexual Health Service in the report.
It is understood the alarm was raised about Cairns services by a whistleblowing health worker who lodged a public interest disclosure when they came into contact with a 12- year-old patient from the Cairns Sexual Health Service, who was prescribed puberty blockers without the required consultations with psychiatrists, psychologists, endocrinologists, fertility specialists, paediatricians, social workers and GPs.
These protocols are a must for children 14 years and under.
This ignited an internal review of the service in late 2024 which found that patients were receiving care which was not backed by the required experience and credentials and did not adhere to the Australian Standards of Care and Treatment Guidelines for Trans and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents.
It also revealed a lack of documented patient and parental consent.
As of November last year any further intake of under 18s to the Cairns Sexual Health service was suspended.
The government has now initiated a Part 6 independent clinical review to dig deeper into the Cairns services.
It is unclear if other pediatric gender services across the state will also be investigated.
Pediatric gender services have been delivered in Cairns in various forms for the past 13 years but demand has grown over the past five years.

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The “comprehensive evaluation report” from Ms Fentiman’s review into the state’s gender services included 25 recommendations, wholly accepted by the government, to improve the quality of the service.
The recommendations included hiring more staff and building a statewide network of gender service providers.
The report found there were “inconsistent services and standards” for the delivery of gender services across Queensland, particularly regarding age limits accessing medical and mental health services.
It also listed a shortage of psychiatrists and “limited visibility” across various service providers as challenges.
Earlier this month Mr Nicholls said that the government would seriously consider whether it implemented the 25 recommendations in the review.
Prior to the election, Premier David Crisafulli said that Queensland was taking a “vastly different approach” compared to the rest of the world when it came to gender.

The LNP last year voted to ban puberty blockers at its annual national party conference.
Gender services were thrust into the spotlight when Queensland Children’s Hospital senior child psychiatrist Jillian Spencer was suspended over her approach to transgender patients, said she had seen children with complex backgrounds being considered suitable by the clinic for puberty blockers and cross sex hormones.
A fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists has called on the government to reinstate Dr Spencer.
Last year the British National Health Service (NHS) banned puberty blockers for children and the ruling has stirred up fierce debate across the world over their use.
Fears of serious impacts on fertility and sexual function persist.
In 2023, Queensland’s Children Gender Clinic treated 899 patients and issued 172 puberty blocker prescriptions.
Source: The Courier-Mail