Have Your Say: Medicare Funding for Gender Surgery

The Australian Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) has opened its consultation survey for Application 1754 - Surgical Procedures for Gender Affirmation in Adults with Gender Incongruence.

This application requests the creation of a new Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items for “gender affirming“ surgeries. Or, more simply, making gender affirming surgery freely available in Australia via the Medicare system.  The application is requesting around 30 new items to be added covering things from mastectomies for females and breast augmentation for males through to genital surgeries.

LGB Alliance Australia has made submissions and participated in the MSAC consultation for this application.

Our position is that the evidence base does not currently support the listing of surgical procedures for gender incongruence under Medicare.

The long-term efficacy data are insufficient, complication rates are unacceptably high, and the risk of lifelong regret, particularly among cohorts who are gay or lesbian or who present with psychiatric co-morbidities are too great. We recommended MSAC decline to list these procedures at this time, pending robust long-term outcome data.

The public consultation survey is now open.

We strongly ask that all LGB Alliance Australia members or supporters who may have been personally affected by gender surgeries make your voice heard on this important issue.

Alternatively, you may be someone who would have regretted gender affirming surgery except you were deterred by the financial cost.

The survey is open until 9 October 2026. Click the button to take part.