okay i was just wondering when i can do it, how much it will cost me to transition. how much does estrogen cost per month, how much and where can i get vaginoplasty, how much does it cost to see a gender therapist, how old do i have to be, will people legally recognize me as a woman, will people treat me like one, will people not hire me for work because i'm trans, if there is a world war 3 will they see me as a man and make me fight? whats it like to transition in Australia?

Hi,

Southern Community Mental Health
Service 352 South Road Hampton East Vic 3168
phone 03 9556 5216 or 03 95565241

Fax 03 9556 5256

email genderclinic@southernhealth.org.au

this would be the best place to start, the Monash Health  i rang them in 06  so know they are more than willing to help.  plus  would have done surgerys for myself  at that time,  And im from NZ, south isl  Waimate

...noeleena...

Hi Lilyyy,

Without knowing your specifics it's hard to give you any figures.  In any case, your first place of contact should be any of the gender centres in each state - they will be able to assist you in getting started, unless you know of a TG friendly GP you can access, in which case, they will be able to provide you with referral to the next level of care.  Generally speaking, the initial phase will be therapy with a psych first.

A great deal of transition related expenses are partially covered by Medicare rebates, but you may be out of pocket if you go private for specialist care (endo, psych etc).  Your greatest costs will come from surgery especially as most of the better regarded surgeons are all overseas.  A typical BA in Australia would cost upwards of $8k if I remember correctly.

Your HRT costs will vary greatly depending on what medications you end up taking and the dosages.  Without specifying dosages other than saying I am on low dose, it costs me roughly about $30 for two months of meds.  (Having given that figure, I suspect a lot of the Aussie gals can probably work out my dosages XD)

I'm terrible at keeping track of my expenses so don't quote me on them.

Quote from: Lilyyy on June 30, 2013, 10:19:20 PM
okay i was just wondering when i can do it, how much it will cost me to transition. how much does estrogen cost per month, how much and where can i get vaginoplasty, how much does it cost to see a gender therapist, how old do i have to be, will people legally recognize me as a woman, will people treat me like one, will people not hire me for work because i'm trans, if there is a world war 3 will they see me as a man and make me fight? whats it like to transition in Australia?

Ok lets deal with this one at a time.

how much it will cost me to transition
- Depends on the answers to your other questions
how much does estrogen cost per month
- One supply of any given medication on the PBS listing (which estradiol is) is about $35 without a health care card and about $5 with one. One supply usually equals roughly a month for most drugs but it will vary depending on the dose you're given and the specific drug. $35 a month would be the upper limit of the costs.
how much and where can i get vaginoplasty
- Don't know the answer to that one.
how much does it cost to see a gender therapist
- It can vary a lot, but my experience is therapists will take you for literally whatever they can. My advice is to use good judgement on this one.
how old do i have to be
- Depends on the therapist writing your letter. Some therapists won't be too worried, others will insist that unless you're older than them then you're too young. Again, good judgement and don't be afraid to question your psych.
will people legally recognize me as a woman
- It varies a little state by state but in general you will legally be considered female after SRS. Some things like drivers licenses however can be changed irrespective of legal sex.
will people treat me like one
- Who is people? If you pass, odds are yes.
will people not hire me for work because i'm trans
- Some might, better to just not tell them if you can avoid it, you can take legal action against them however if you feel they've discriminated against you.
if there is a world war 3 will they see me as a man and make me fight?
- Impossible to answer, the question is already assuming something that may never happen. Odds are they would not. But in theory the government can make anybody fight. There's no current draft and won't be until something inherently unpredictable happens so there's no way to really answer the question.
whats it like to transition in Australia?
- Frustrating, but I find everything about this country frustrating.

Quote from: Asfsd4214 on July 01, 2013, 06:09:11 AM
will people legally recognize me as a woman
- It varies a little state by state but in general you will legally be considered female after SRS. Some things like drivers licenses however can be changed irrespective of legal sex.

Just to elaborate on that.. you only need a letter from GP or psych to change drivers license and passport in all states before SRS. You can use the passport then after to change all your other documents, including Medicare.

SRS is only required to change Birth Certificate in some states, such as Queensland unfortunately.

See.. https://www.passports.gov.au/web/sexgenderapplicants.aspx

Thank you girls. This this a really useful thread an giving me answers to some of the many questions I have about making my transition.