Wednesday, 15 May 2024

 David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:26): (529) My question is for the minister representing the Minister for Education. Responding appropriately to children and young people experiencing gender distress is a significant challenge. I have seen it cause chaos in families and indeed political parties, but it is a very significant challenge for schools. It is interesting when you make comments questioning the status quo who starts to come forward. I have had several parents contact me outlining their experiences where they believe a school has overstepped its remit. They generally relate to a child socially transitioning at school and the parents being completely blindsided. It is a pretty liberal interpretation of the education department’s guidelines. A parent that first contacted me a few weeks ago put it like this: last year was the first year that Santa did not visit, but this year supposedly their daughter is a mature minor and mature enough to make decisions without the involvement of parents. Minister, will you commit to reviewing and updating this guidance?

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:27): I thank Mr Limbrick for his question. I will pass it to the Minister for Education.

 David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:27): I thank the minister for passing that on. The substantive review of gender identity services for children and young people in the UK, otherwise known as the Cass review, had a whole chapter on social transitioning. Much of the contents of this chapter simply highlight that there is not a lot of high-quality research on the impact of socially transitioning for young people on either their mental health or the likelihood of progressing down a medical transition pathway. What the report does highlight is that parents or carers should be involved wherever possible. At the heart of some of the concerns is the interaction between things like the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 and education department guidelines. A parent who appeared at the Legal and Social Issues Committee inquiry into the education system recently stated that parents who had explained to wellbeing staff that they wanted to take a cautious approach and access neutral psychotherapy were told that this was illegal in Victoria. Minister, will you also ensure that schools are better educated that neutral psychotherapy and cautious approaches to gender transition are in fact not illegal?

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:28): Thank you, Mr Limbrick. In accordance with the standing orders, I will refer your question to the Minister for Education.