A petition on the Australian parliament website, calling for gender affirming surgery to be covered by Medicare, has received a massive amount of support.

The petition, which is open to signatures until 27 October, has received over 130,000 signatures since it was posted. It calls on Australia’s parliamentarians to take action.

“Transgender people and other people in need of gender-affirming surgery must pay a lot of money, up to $30,000, so they can finally have their outward appearance match how they truly feel on the inside. I know of someone personally who is struggling to bring together the money to get this surgery as it is not covered by Medicare, even though this specific person is eligible for a breast reduction for medical purposes anyway.” the petition reads.

“We therefore ask the House to make gender-affirming and gender reassignment services eligible for Medicare benefits, as these surgeries are essential for the mental health and well-being of select people in the LGBTQ+ community.”

The petition was launched by Alyssa Kennedy-Whiting.

While there are currently 68 petitions open on the Parliament website, calling for everything from providing subsidies electric vehicles to removing HECS debts, none have received the level of support of petition calling for the government to take more action on transgender health care.

Calls for the federal government to include gender affirming health care under Medicare have been made for many years. OUTinPerth reported on similar calls in 2012, however despite many politicians voicing support for change, none has occurred.

OIP Staff

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