Dear Minister Barnett,
Re: Family Planning Tasmania’s “Growing Up Program” and the Mental Health Impact of Social Transition Practices in Tasmanian Schools
I am writing to raise serious concerns about the lack of transparency and safeguarding in programs being delivered to Tasmanian children under government funding — specifically, Family Planning Tasmania’s Growing Up Program (GUP) and the promotion of “social transition” practices by the organisation Working It Out.
Despite previous correspondence with Minister for Education Jo Palmer, including a detailed letter dated 29 May 2024, no meaningful action has been taken. While the Minister affirmed the Government’s commitment to the wellbeing of all children and young people, mounting evidence now indicates that current school-based practices are exposing children to psychological harm, breaches of child safety standards, and erosion of parental trust.
At the Gender Healthcare Summit held in Adelaide on 18 October, psychiatrist Dr Alison Clayton warned of the dangers of socially transitioning children — where a child changes name, pronouns, or appearance in line with a “new gender.” Dr Clayton noted that this practice has been wrongly normalised as “best practice” despite the absence of evidence supporting its safety or effectiveness, and that it may in fact act as a form of conversion therapy. Most children who experience gender distress, she said, later grow up to be same-sex attracted adults, not transgender.
In Tasmania, Working It Out provides “inclusive practice” guidance to schools, encouraging social transition and pronoun changes, and works jointly with Family Planning Tasmania in delivering the GUP. This uncritical “affirmation model” presents serious safeguarding and legal risks for the Government. Should harm result from these practices, the Government may be exposed to liability for negligence under its duty of care to protect children from foreseeable harm.
In recent weeks, numerous parents have contacted Women Speak Tasmania and spoken publicly about disturbing experiences with the Growing Up Program. Concerns include the use of dehumanising language (“people with penises/vulvas”), refusal to share teaching materials, and lessons that discuss explicit sexual content with children as young as 10 or 11.
One parent reported that after a Year 6 GUP session, students were overheard discussing explicit sexual acts, with teachers claiming, “if children ask questions, we should answer them.” Others were told that GUP materials were “not available” or “commercial in confidence.” At least one independent school, Collegiate, has since discontinued use of these materials following complaints.
Family Planning Tasmania receives nearly 50% of its funding from the Tasmanian Government, yet it operates without adequate oversight or transparency. Taxpayer-funded programs must be subject to full public scrutiny — particularly those involving children.
As Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, your portfolio carries responsibility for ensuring government agencies uphold their duty of care and comply with safeguarding, human rights, and education standards. The following failures indicate potential breaches of that duty:
- Endorsement of external programs without transparent review of content;
- Failure to ensure that teaching aligns with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations;
- Disregard for parental consent and the Education Act’s recognition of parents as partners in their child’s learning;
- Potential exposure of minors to sexualised or psychologically harmful material.
If substantiated, these failures could constitute negligence under both common law and statutory obligations, particularly where foreseeable harm to children’s mental health or development is ignored.
Given the seriousness of these matters, we urge your intervention to ensure:
- Program Reform: Family Planning Tasmania be prohibited from delivering sex education programs in Tasmanian schools.
- Qualified Delivery: Sex education be provided only by trained educators or school nurses employed by the Department of Education, with appropriate professional oversight.
- Evidence-Based Content: Curriculum must be age-appropriate, biologically accurate, and free of ideological or activist content.
- Transparency: All program materials must be made publicly available for parental review.
Minister Barnett, your Government has both a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that programs funded and endorsed by it do not endanger children or erode family trust. The ongoing support of the Growing Up Program and social transition practices in schools places the Government in clear breach of its duty of care, creating foreseeable risks of litigation should psychological or developmental harm be proven.
We respectfully request an urgent meeting to discuss these matters and to outline steps to protect children, restore parental confidence, and ensure Tasmanian education policies comply with the law.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Elizabeth Caballero
Retired General Practitioner
Director, Women Speak Tasmania