Letter sent to Jo Palmer on the 23.10.25
Dear Minister Jo Palmer,
Re: Urgent Review of Family Planning Tasmania’s “Growing Up Program” in Schools
I am writing to raise serious concerns about the content and delivery of Family Planning Tasmania’s Growing Up Program (GUP), currently being taught in Tasmanian schools. Multiple parents have come forward with consistent and troubling accounts highlighting a lack of transparency, age-inappropriate content, and the implicit teaching of gender ideology to primary school children.
These issues are not simply matters of differing opinion—they are issues of child safety, informed consent, and compliance with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, which all Australian organisations, including Family Planning Tasmania, are expected to uphold.
Parents have reported that Family Planning Tasmania refuses to release the materials used in the Growing Up Program. One mother explained:
“I believe sex education is important; however, it should reflect the reality that there are two sexes, and use normal language that women and girls are female and boys and men are male.
When I asked to see the materials, the FPT representative said she had no written script and would have to check with her manager.
I later confirmed with FPT that they use dehumanising language such as ‘people with penises’ and ‘people with vulvas’—but I was told I could not access written materials to verify this.”
The deliberate withholding of teaching materials directly contravenes Principle 3 of the National Child Safe Principles, which requires organisations to “seek feedback from families and communities on issues of child safety and wellbeing” and to ensure open communication with families.
Transparency is not optional—it is a core safeguard designed to protect children from harm and to build trust between parents and educators.
Several parents reported that they were not notified before the Growing Up Program sessions took place, and that no permission slips or parent information sessions were offered at their schools.
This is inconsistent with both Tasmania’s Education Act—which recognises parents as the primary educators of their children—and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, which state that “families participate in decisions affecting their child.”
When schools or external organisations exclude parents from reviewing materials, understanding content, or deciding participation, they not only erode parental trust—they undermine a core pillar of child safety: informed parental consent.
Parents also described incidents where children as young as 11 and 12 were discussing sex positions after GUP lessons. When questioned, teachers responded that “if children ask questions, they should be answered.”
Such responses indicate a lack of professional boundaries and raise serious safeguarding concerns. Sex education must be age-appropriate, factual, and protective, not exploratory or adult-themed. When external presenters are not properly monitored or bound by transparent lesson plans, children’s emotional safety and wellbeing are at risk.
Family Planning Tasmania receives almost 50% of its funding from the Tasmanian Government. This means that taxpayers are funding a program that parents are not permitted to scrutinise. Government-funded programs must operate with full transparency and accountability, particularly when they involve direct contact with children on sensitive topics such as sexuality and identity.
Collegiate recently announced it will no longer use Family Planning Tasmania’s resources due to parental concerns, opting instead to deliver health education internally through trained school staff. This should prompt a broader review of FPT’s involvement in Tasmanian schools.
Given the widespread parental concern and the clear inconsistencies with child safety principles, we are calling for:
- Full transparency — All materials used by Family Planning Tasmania in schools must be made available for parental review.
- Program reform — FPT should no longer deliver sex education in Tasmanian schools.
- Appropriate delivery — Health and sex education should be provided by qualified educators within the Department of Education.
- Safeguarding alignment — All programs delivered to children must be consistent with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and the Tasmanian Education Act.
- Respect for parental partnership — Parents must be recognised as key participants in decisions affecting their children, especially on sensitive topics involving sex and identity.
Minister, the issues raised here are not theoretical—they are real, ongoing, and deeply distressing for Tasmanian families. The deliberate withholding of information from parents about what their children are being taught on sensitive subjects is a violation of trust and a breach of child safety standards.
We respectfully request an immediate review of Family Planning Tasmania’s Growing Up Program and a meeting with you to discuss how transparency, accountability, and true safeguarding can be restored to Tasmanian schools.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Elizabeth Caballero (retired GP)
Director – Women Speak Tasmania
Response from Jo Palmer on the 22.12.25
