{"id":52332,"date":"2026-07-17T03:21:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T03:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/52332\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T03:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T03:21:44","slug":"queensland-childrens-hospital-clears-dr-jillian-spencer-of-wrongdoing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/52332\/","title":{"rendered":"Queensland Children\u2019s Hospital clears Dr Jillian Spencer of wrongdoing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queensland Children\u2019s Hospital has formally cleared child psychiatrist Jillian Spencer of wrongdoing three years after she was suspended from work over outspoken views against gender treatment.<\/p>\n

Dr Spencer has been in a dispute with her employer, Queensland\u2019s largest public children\u2019s hospital, since 2022 after raising a series of clinical concerns about the state\u2019s gender service policy, which allowed young people with complex medical issues to be prescribed cross-sex hormones.<\/p>\n

She was suspended in 2023<\/a> and took her concerns public.<\/p>\n

In a statement released on Friday morning, Queensland Children\u2019s Hospital (QCH) acknowledged that gender affirming care should be debated in a professional setting and that children should not be placed on a predetermined treatment pathway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe CHQ HHS (Children’s Hospital Queensland and Hospital Health Services) acknowledges that these are matters of legitimate professional and public debate, and that clinicians play an important role in raising concerns about patient safety and clinical practice. <\/p>\n

\u201cDr Spencer has been a strong advocate for change in Queensland in the model of care for children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria. One of the features of the clinical approach that Dr Spencer has sought is the delay in medical interventions for such patients until adulthood, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, because they are serious decisions regarding their body and long-term health.<\/p>\n

\u201cCHQ HHS accepts that Dr Spencer\u2019s concerns were grounded in her training and background as an experienced child and adolescent psychiatrist.<\/p>\n

\u201cCHQ HHS acknowledges that health practitioners must take a clinical approach to the treatment of gender dysphoria that focuses on the best available research and the child\u2019s best interests rather than directing a child down a predetermined treatment pathway. <\/p>\n

\u201cHealth practitioners must employ a holistic clinical approach that comprehensively assesses all relevant factors \u2013 including any comorbidities or other mental health conditions \u2013 and use information gathered from that process to determine the best available mode of treatment and care for the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

While all of Dr Spencer\u2019s disputes with the QCH have now been settled, she has resigned from her position at the hospital. The statement was made as part of the settlement terms, but no other details have been made public.<\/p>\n

The Human Rights Law Alliance welcomed the settlement. Principal lawyer John Steenhof said the outcome was \u201cvindication\u201d for the care of children and rights of doctors against \u201cideological coercion.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoctors must be free to exercise independent clinical judgment, speak honestly about patient safety concerns, and pursue what they believe to be the best interests of their patients without fear of disciplinary retaliation,\u201d Mr Steenhof said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the strongest statement ever from Government that doctors need to exercise caution and ensure the best care possible to protect confused children.\u201d<\/p>\n

A separate investigation into Dr Spencer, launched by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency following a complaint<\/a>, was dropped on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Public hospitals in Queensland have been unable to provide hormone therapy and puberty blockers to new patients<\/a> under 18 since a statewide ban was instituted in January 2025, after it was discovered dozens of children received treatment outside of clinical guidelines.<\/a> While the ban was overturned on procedural grounds in a Supreme Court challenge in October, Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls issued a ministerial directive hours later to effectively keep the ban in place. A second directive was issued in January.<\/p>\n

In a short statement on Friday, Mr Nicholls said Dr Spencer\u2019s settlement was exclusively an employment dispute.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll matters between the parties have been resolved by mutual agreement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Australian Christian Lobby\u2019s chief executive Michelle Pearse called on the QCH\u2019s concessions to be the catalyst for Australia\u2019s healthcare systems to reconsider how gender affirming care is prescribed. <\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia should follow the growing international movement toward evidence-based care and pause experimental gender treatments that are harming vulnerable children,\u201d Ms Pearse said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery child deserves compassionate care, but compassion must be grounded in sound medical evidence rather than ideology. When irreversible treatments are involved, caution and the protection of children should always come first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mackenzie<\/a><\/p>\n

Mackenzie Scott is a property and general news reporter based in Brisbane. Prior to joining The Australian in 2018, she was the editorial coordinator at NewsMediaWorks, covering media and publishing, and editor at travel and lifestyle website Xplore Sydney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queensland Children\u2019s Hospital has formally cleared child psychiatrist Jillian Spencer of wrongdoing three years after she was 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