NSW Health is committed to providing the best possible care for trans and gender diverse young people and their families across NSW.
NSW Specialist Trans and Gender Diverse Health Service (TGD Health Service) provides medical, nursing, and allied health specialist care to make sure trans and gender diverse young people from across NSW get the support they need. The TGD Health Service includes Maple Leaf House (up to 25 in Rural and Regional areas), SCHN Trans and Gender Diverse Service (up to 16 in Sydney areas) and True Colours (16 - up to 25 in Sydney areas).
Our services provide evidence-based, holistic and tailored care to support the individual and their health goals. Being trans and gender diverse is experienced and expressed in many different ways so it is important that care and support reflects what each person needs.
Each site of the TGD Health Service offers a range of health services including access to medical, nursing, mental health and allied health specialists, offering services such as medical All good. thanks.review, specialist nursing care, psychological assessment and diagnosis, and social work consultation. The service also provides access to gender affirming medical treatments such as puberty suppression treatment and hormone treatment where clinically appropriate and in line with an individual's goals.
The service works closely with other support services and primary care to give safe, person-centred care to young people, their families, and carers.
For further information regarding how the service will operate, refer to the Framework for the Specialist Trans and Gender Diverse Health Service for People Under 25 Years.
NSW Health is committed to providing the best possible care for trans and gender diverse young people and their families across NSW.
Our services provide medical, nursing, and allied health specialist care to make sure trans and gender diverse young people from across NSW get the support they need.
The NSW Specialist Trans and Gender Diverse Health Service (NSW TGD Health Service) provides evidence-based, holistic and tailored care to support the individual and their health goals. Being trans and gender diverse is experienced and expressed in many different ways so it is important that care and support reflects what each person needs.
Each site offers a range of health services including access to medical, nursing, mental health and allied health specialists, offering services such as medical review, specialist nursing care, psychological assessment and diagnosis, and social work consultation. The service also provides access to gender affirming medical treatments such as puberty suppression treatment and hormone treatment where clinically appropriate and in line with an individual's goals.
The service works closely with other support services and primary care to give safe, person-centred care to young people, their families, and carers.
The NSW TGD Health Service will see young people who are trans and gender diverse or gender exploring up to their 25th birthday. If you wish to attend one of the NSW TGD Health Service sites, your General Practitioner (GP) or specialist can provide you with a referral.
Your GP can access appropriate referral and clinical information via Health Pathways (an online tool for primary care clinicans).
Once a referral letter from your GP is sent to the NSW TGD Health Service, a specialist team member will review the request. You will then be contacted by the relevant service and offered an intake appointment with a team member.
Please be aware that each service has a waiting list and there will be a wait time.
The NSW TGD Health Service provides care for young people across all NSW local health districts. Where you live and your age will determine which site is most appropriate for you.
If you live in the Sydney metropolitan area, you will be referred to one of the Sydney Hub sites. Referral areas include:
If you are 16 years or over, but not yet 25 years, you will go to:
True Colours Location: Community-based clinic in Surry Hills Contact phone: (02) 9332 9676 Enquiries: seslhd-truecolours@health.nsw.gov.au Referrals: Fax 9332 9787 or your clinician can send a referral through ConsultMed.
If you are under 16 years you will go to:
Sydney Children's Network Trans and Gender Diverse Health Service Location: Westmead Children's Hospital Contact phone: (02) 7825 2446 Enquiries: SCHN-CHW-GenderService@health.nsw.gov.au Referrals: Email SCHN-CHW-GenderService@health.nsw.gov.au or your doctor can send a referral through ConsultMed.
If you live in rural or regional NSW, you will be referred to the Rural and Regional Hub located in Newcastle. Referral areas include:
If you are under 25 years and live in rural or regional NSW, you will go to:
Maple Tree House Location: Community-based clinic in Hamilton, Newcastle Contact phone: (02) 4016 4980 Enquiries: HNELHD-JHCHMapleLeafHouse@health.nsw.gov.au Referrals: Through fax 49 236 598 or email HNELHD-JHCHMapleLeafHouse@health.nsw.gov.au
The NSW TGD Health Service is a free, publicly funded service. There may be costs associated with treatment options, which you can discuss with your treating team.
The NSW TGD Health Service offers holistic, individualised care. Your care plan is based on your goals, clinical needs and individual circumstances. Gender affirming medical treatment may or may not be a part of your care plan.
In NSW, if you are under 18 years old, there must be consent from both parents/guardians to commence gender affirming medical treatments, including puberty blockers and gender affirming hormones. An application to Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia may need to be considered by the young person and/or their family if you cannot meet the consent requirements for treatment. On a case-by-case basis, additional approval may be required from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
For those aged 18 and over, an informed consent model is generally appropriate.
The TGD Health Service will provide case-by-case advice to young people and parents or carers about these requirements.
For more information on the consent requirements for gender affirming medical treatment for minors, refer to Section 8.12 of Consent to Medical and Healthcare Treatment Manual (Minors).
For more information on the consent requirements related to children in out-of-home care, refer to the Medical and Dental Consent Tool.
The Framework for the Specialist Trans and Gender Diverse Health Service for People Under 25 Years provides guidance to NSW local health districts and speciality health networks on how evidence-based trans and gender diverse health care will be delivered through the Specialist Trans and Gender Diverse Health Service Framework.
The framework was developed over two years and is informed by service mapping, an evidence check conducted by the Sax Institute, national and international clinical guidance, and consultations with over 70 public and private clinicians, families and carers of trans and gender diverse people under 25 years, NGOs, GPs and Primary Health Networks. In addition, the Framework was circulated for consultation to all NSW Health local health districts, networks and pillars.
The framework aligns with accepted best practice in the international and Australian context, including but not limited to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Australian Standards of Care and Treatment Guidelines for Trans and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents (for more information see Resources). Care is informed by the existing evidence base and will be modified as new evidence emerges.
As trans and gender diverse health care is an evolving practice area, it is important that clinicians working in the service contribute to the emerging evidence base.
To support evidence-based service delivery, a Clinical Advisory Group has been established to review emerging evidence and clinical guidance and provide advice to the Specialist Hubs. Their work will be supported by an updated evidence check by the Sax Institute on the benefits and risks of gender affirming care.
When young people and their families enter the TGD Health Service, there will be an opportunity to participate in research projects that contribute to understanding and improvements in care for trans and gender diverse young people. Detailed information will be provided to help young people and their families decide if they want to participate. Participation is voluntary and will not impact access to care. Consent to participate in research can be withdrawn at any time. We encourage young people and families attending the TGD Health Service to discuss any questions or concerns about how their information may be used before providing consent.
All future research endorsed by the TGD Health Service will be designed in consultation with consumers and trans and gender diverse community stakeholders to support high quality findings.
Trans and gender diverse healthcare is a complex and evolving practice area. NSW Health continues to monitor developments in the evidence to ensure the care we provide remains consistent with national and international best practice.
The 2024 Sax Institute Evidence Check Update includes summaries of both international and domestic peer-reviewed literature published since 2019 into treatment options for young people with gender dysphoria, in what is a constantly evolving research field. The Evidence Check Update builds on a previous Evidence Check conducted in January 2020. The report does not make recommendations for policy and clinical practice.
The Evidence Check Update found:
To support evidence-based service delivery, a Clinical Advisory Group has been established to review emerging evidence and clinical guidance and provide advice to the TGD Health Service. The 2024 Sax Institute Evidence Check Update will support this work and inform understanding of priority areas for research, including the need for further collaboration with other Australian service providers on longitudinal research.
For more information, please see Effective interventions for children and young people with gender dysphoria update.
In March 2021, NSW Health released the landmark NSW LGBTIQ+ Health Strategy. The strategy's vision is for LGBTIQ+ people in NSW to receive high quality, safe, inclusive and responsive healthcare that delivers outcomes that matter to them.
Since the launch of the strategy, NSW Health has announced various initiatives to support trans and gender diverse communities including:
In addition, the NSW Government is supporting implementation of the NSW LGBTIQ+ Health Strategy through:
If you or someone you know needs mental health support, please call one of the following services and speak with someone.
Further mental health resources are available on HERE – a digital suicide prevention hub for LGBTQ+ communities.
For NSW Health staff, additional support is available through the Employee Assistance Program.
