Puberty Blocker Issues In Australia

[Sarah B ✅]

This post brings together two publicly accessible sources concerning Australia's review of puberty suppression and paediatric gender care guidelines. The common thread running through both links is the use of puberty blockers.

The first article is an ABC News report from 31 January 2025. It gives the broader Australian background and explains why the federal government asked the NHMRC to review treatment guidelines for trans and gender diverse children and adolescents.

The second link is the NHMRC page. It explains the official national guideline process and the planned interim advice on puberty suppression.
Title: Federal government orders review of treatment guidelines for trans and gender diverse children
Link To: Article 🔗 [Link: abc.net.au/news/2025-​01-​31/federal-​review-​treatment-​guidelines-​trans-​gender-​diverse-​kids/104882406/]
Author: Janelle Miles
Date: Fri 31 Jan 2025 at 5:30pm
Trigger Warning: None
Brief summary of the article
The article reports that the federal government ordered a review of Australian standards of care and treatment guidelines for transgender or gender-diverse children and adolescents. It says Health Minister Mark Butler asked the National Health and Medical Research Council to develop new Australian guidelines for young people with gender dysphoria, with interim advice on puberty blockers expected by the middle of 2026.
Main Points of the Article
"Health Minister Mark Butler has also asked for the development of new Australian guidelines for the care of young people with gender dysphoria."

"The Albanese government has ordered a review of the Australian standards of care and treatment guidelines for trans and gender diverse children and adolescents."

"It is imperative there is community confidence that Australian children, adolescents and their families are receiving the most appropriate care."

"These guidelines will ensure Australia has the most appropriate national guidelines of clinical practice and that families have the utmost confidence in the health care young Australians receive."

"Mr Butler said he expected interim advice on the use of puberty blockers to be completed by mid-2026."
The NHMRC page below explains the official national guideline process and the planned interim advice on puberty suppression.
Title: National clinical practice guidelines for the care of trans and gender diverse people under 18 with gender dysphoria
Link To: Article 🔗 [Link: nhmrc.gov.au/health-​advice/guidelines-​care-​trans-​and-​gender-​diverse-​people/]
Author: National Health and Medical Research Council
Date: Accessed 13 July 2026
Trigger Warning: None
Brief summary of the article
The webpage says the Australian Government asked the National Health and Medical Research Council to develop new national clinical practice guidelines for the care of trans and gender-diverse people under 18 with gender dysphoria. It explains that the guidelines are expected to take three years to develop, with interim advice on puberty suppression planned for public consultation.
Main Points of the Article
"The Australian Government has requested the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) develop new national clinical practice guidelines for the care of trans and gender diverse people under 18 with gender dysphoria (Gender Guidelines)."

"NHMRC guidelines are intended to promote health, prevent harm, encourage best practice and reduce waste."

"They are developed by multidisciplinary committees that follow a rigorous evidence-based approach."

"Development of the Gender Guidelines is expected to take 3 years."

"Interim advice for public consultation on the use of puberty suppression will be available in the middle of 2026."

"Young people under 18 who experience gender dysphoria and seek support, where available, may receive multidisciplinary care through a broad, coordinated approach."

"Medical interventions as part of medical care for trans and gender diverse people under 18 with gender dysphoria can include the use of puberty suppression and/or gender affirming hormones."

"These guidelines will be developed in line with NHMRC Standards for Guidelines and Guidelines for Guidelines, and the international GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach."
The national NHMRC review demonstrates that the use of puberty suppression in Australian paediatric gender care remains under active examination. The interim advice and public consultation process should provide further information about the evidence considered by the committee and its proposed recommendations.

Given the decision by the Queensland Health Minister to pause the commencement of puberty blockers for new public patients under 18 and the national NHMRC review now underway, Australia is not immune to similar developments occurring around the world.

Note the original post contained 3 articles however I have remove the Australian article since it is paywalled.

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator
@Allie Jayne @Petunia

[Devlyn ✅]

We're not supposed to use paywalled sources. Bosses orders. 😉

[Sarah B ✅]

Professor Sallie Baxendale's paper is included here as further context because it examines the possible neuropsychological effects of puberty suppression.

Professor Baxendale was recently interviewed by The Australian ahead of her scheduled keynote address at the Coalition Advancing Scientific Care Gender Healthcare Summit in Adelaide in October 2026. As the newspaper report is paywalled, the interview quotations from that report have not been reproduced here. The conference and her scheduled appearance can be verified through the publicly accessible conference page.
Conference: Gender Healthcare Summit 2026
Link To: Conference Information 🔗 [Link: casc.ltd/2026-​event/]
Location: Adelaide
Date: October 2026
Keynote Speaker: Professor Sallie Baxendale
Title: The impact of suppressing puberty on neuropsychological function: A review
Link To: Article 🔗 [Link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/apa.17150/]
Author: Sallie Baxendale
Date: 9 February 2024
Trigger Warning: None
Brief summary of the article
The paper reviews animal and human research concerning the possible effects of pubertal suppression on cognitive and behavioural development. It reports that the effects identified in animal studies were complex and often differed according to sex. It also identifies a lack of human studies that have systematically examined neuropsychological outcomes in transgender adolescents using adequate baseline and follow-up assessments.
Main Points of the Article
"Adolescence is a critical window of neurodevelopment and puberty plays a critical role in these neurodevelopmental processes."

"The suppression of puberty impacts brain structure and the development of social and cognitive functions in mammals, the effects are complex and often sex specific."

"No human studies have systematically explored the neuropsychological impact of pubertal suppression in transgender adolescents with an adequate baseline and follow-up, this is an urgent research priority."
The conference connection explains the timing of the recent newspaper interview while the publicly accessible peer-reviewed paper provides a source that readers can examine directly. The statements above are taken from the paper and not from the paywalled interview in The Australian.

What is not discussed in any of these articles is central precocious puberty, where the same puberty blocking medications are used and where their use is more prevalent than in gender care.

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator
@Allie Jayne @Petunia

[Allie Jayne]

Thanks for posting this Sarah, I will be keeping my eyes on this as it develops. The results of the review will be post the next Federal Election, so I am worried about political pressure affecting the final reports. Hopefully we will get some updates during the process to see if the reports are consistent.

Hugs,

Allie

[Petunia]

What Allie said. I too are quite worried about this becoming a political football.

[Finally Anna]

This is another one of those political things that are not really a problem in real life. Statistics say that for early puberty (not pre puberty) people that experience increasing and hampering dysphoria at the onset of puberty, the vast majority will be trans. And for these people, a puberty delay followed by hrt will be a life-saver, figuratively and possibly also  literally.

Disclaimer and related to the

this is an urgent research priority.

Statistics about trans people is a so-so thing because there can never be a double-blind control group, but the stats that exist are as briefly described above.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Statistics about trans people is a so-so thing because there can never be a double-blind control group, but the stats that exist are as briefly described above.

Another problem with the studies is that the study groups are so small. We are less than 1% of the population; some are still stealth, and not everyone volunteers for the study. With such a small group, the studies are often labeled as "statistically insignificant," so it is difficult to point and say, "See, right there!"

This, in turn, affects our healthcare system because providers are hesitant to change protocols for lack of evidence to support such changes. I spent years arguing with physicians and endocrinologists to get them to change my protocols.

Where this affects puberty blockers is a very similar situation. Transgender children are a tiny fraction of the "less than 1% of the population," so the studies are much smaller. And not many parents are willing to sign their kids up to be guinea pigs in scientific research.

Typically, the medical community will look at protocols that have worked in similar situations in the past and prescribe accordingly. Such as Precocious Puberty that Sarah B described.

The problem with this is that the more those prescriptions are used, the more they become the new standard protocol, even if they are the wrong choice or better choices become available. A prime example is the oft-prescribed spironolactone as a testosterone blocker. Spironolactone is NOT a testosterone blocker; it is a diuretic that has a testosterone-lowering side effect. There are other drugs that are specifically designed to block testosterone production (like leuprolide). But because Spiro has been prescribed for decades, it has become the go-to drug of choice.

The same thing is happening with puberty blockers, in that they are using what has been used for years in the past. This particular report is not looking at the physical effects, though. It is addressing the neuropsychological impacts of puberty suppression. That is certainly something that needs to be looked at, but again, with small studies it may not be possible to draw any firm conclusions. And relying on something as political as the Cass Report as a foundation for such studies is just bad science.