At the first stage of review, the Plastic Surgeon’s application was unsuccessful. It seems sanity has prevailed. However, the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) issued a dangerous warning in their summary…
“After its April 2025 meeting, MSAC requested that further work be undertaken by the Department to ensure that the clinical assessment is robust, accurately reflects Australian clinical practice, and is appropriately tailored to the Australian population.
This application received a considerable amount of feedback, and MSAC expressed their gratitude for people’s willingness to share their experiences.
MSAC acknowledged the clinical need for gender affirming care, and will undertake further consultation with care providers and people with lived experience to inform this application.
After this work is complete the clinical assessment will be considered at a future MSAC meeting. The website will be updated with meeting dates.“
So, the MSAC did not dump the application, nor did it ask the surgeons and ACON to rewrite it. The MSAC is asking for feedback from the Health Department, the care providers (like the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne) and those with lived experience (usually trans activists or confused children/parents).
It also speaks of Australian Clinical Practice. What is needed is to look at best International Clinical Practice. This will show countries dumping the gender affirming care model in favour of a reality-based approach
Common sense has not prevailed yet. The feedback they receive will no doubt recommend that trans-surgery go onto Medicare. Pressure must be maintained on Health Minister Butler together with state health ministers to ensure 2nd stage consultation fails to give activists what they want. Instead, it must provide reality-based psychological care to those in most need.