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The state government disclosed confidential information about the mother of a transgender teenager – data she claims potentially “outed” her child – to a unknown individual.

Allegations of “Bullying” and “Invasion of Privacy”

The revelation emerged as the government was charged of “intimidation” and “an invasion of privacy” after demanding confidential health records from parents of trans youth who are considering a additional legal challenge to its controversial ban on hormone blockers.

Recent Official Directive on Hormone Treatments

Last month, the Queensland health official, Tim Nicholls, enacted a fresh directive banning the use of puberty blockers for transgender patients, shortly after the state’s supreme court ruled the government’s first attempt was illegal.

Media has interviewed four mothers who have approached Nicholls for a official paper called a statement of reasons – a detailed account of why the authorities made a decision to prohibit puberty blockers in the state. Legally, the document must be supplied under the legal statute.

Requested Health Information

All four were asked by the Queensland health department for details of their teen’s health background, including “your child’s name, their date of birth and any other evidence which supports your teen having a medical confirmation of gender dysphoria”.

The details were requested before the explanation would be provided.

The message, which has been seen by the media, also instructed them to “please also confirm if your teen is a patient of the Queensland Children’s Gender Clinic so that we can verify the information provided with the health service,” reads the email, which was dispatched last Friday.

Parents Label Demand as Breach of Confidentiality

Each parent characterized the demand as an violation of confidentiality.

A mother said she was hesitant to divulge the information because the authorities had accidentally forwarded her data to a different parent.

“It feels like having to reveal your child to actually get a reply; like, it’s frightening,” she said.

Case of Louise*

Louise*, who cannot be legally identified because it would also reveal or expose her teen, was among those who requested a statement of reasons on multiple occasions.

Earlier, the department sent a response intended for her to someone else, revealing her name and location – and the detail that she had a transgender child – to a third party. She said a government employee later said sorry over the phone; the media has seen an email from the department confirming the error.

She said she felt “ill and vulnerable” as a result of the blunder.

“My daughter is very reserved. She is immensely fearful of being exposed in any social setting. She dislikes anyone to know that she’s transgender,” Louise said.

“I respect that to my very being as much as possible. The only time I ever, ever disclose is out of need for gaining access to services and exclusively to individuals I consider trustworthy and I know well.”

Louise was particularly concerned about the suggestion it would be “confirmed” by the medical facility.

She said the demand was “threatening” and “seems coercive”.

Additional Parent Voices Worries

Another mother said she was not comfortable revealing the health background of her young gender-diverse child.

“It’s not my data, it’s a seven-year-old’s information,” she said.

“To imagine that that information could accidentally be disclosed someday, in any way, you know, even if that was unintentional, could be extremely upsetting to him.”

She responded saying the department had asked for an “extraordinary amount of information”.

“I would not share that information to any other organisation that asked for it, particularly in the climate of the current political climate,” she said.

“It’s such highly confidential information. You wouldn’t disclose, for instance, your HIV status to the government office, you know. You’d be hesitant and very cautious to provide any of that information to a group of officials, basically.”

Advocacy Group Considering Further Action

The LGBTI Legal Service, which represented the parent in her challenge, was evaluating a second lawsuit, it said last week.

The head, Ren Shike, said the decision had impacted about 500 Queensland children and their families and it was “important to promptly enable the provision of reasons so that children and their parents can understand the reasoning behind this ruling, which has had such a severe effect on their access to healthcare”.

Government Stance on Prohibition

The authorities has repeatedly said the ban would remain in place until a review into trans healthcare had been finished.