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

Accusations of “Bullying” and “Invasion of Privacy”

The revelation emerged as the state government was charged of “coercion” and “a breach of confidentiality” after demanding confidential health records from guardians of transgender children who are considering a additional court case to its disputed prohibition on hormone blockers.

Recent Official Order on Puberty Blockers

Last month, the state health minister, Tim Nicholls, enacted a fresh directive banning the prescription of hormone blockers for trans individuals, just hours after the state’s supreme court ruled the government’s first attempt was unlawful.

Media has spoken to four mothers who have contacted Nicholls for a legal document called a statement of reasons – a formal explanation of why the government made a decision to ban hormone treatments in the state. Legally, the paper must be provided under the legal statute.

Requested Health Information

All four were required by the Queensland health department for particulars of their teen’s health background, including “your child’s name, their birthdate and any other evidence which confirms your child having a medical confirmation of gender dysphoria”.

The details were sought before the statement of reasons would be provided.

The email, which has been seen by the Guardian, also asked them to “please also confirm if your child is a patient of the Queensland Children’s Gender Clinic so that we can verify the information submitted with Children’s Health Queensland,” reads the communication, which was sent last Friday.

Mothers Describe Request as Invasion of Privacy

All four mothers characterized the demand as an invasion of privacy.

One parent said she was hesitant to divulge the information because the state government had mistakenly forwarded her information to a another individual.

“It seems like having to reveal your teen to actually get a response; like, it’s terrifying,” she said.

Situation of the Mother

The parent, who cannot be legally identified because it would also identify or “out” her child, was one of several who asked for a explanation on multiple occasions.

Earlier, the department sent a response intended for her to another parent, disclosing her name and location – and the detail that she had a transgender child – to a third party. She said a department official later apologised over the phone; the media has obtained an message from the department confirming the error.

She said she felt “sick and unsafe” as a consequence of the blunder.

“My daughter is incredibly private. She is immensely fearful of being exposed in any public space. She doesn’t like people to know that she’s transgender,” Louise said.

“I honor that to my core as much as humanly possible. The only time I ever share is out of need for gaining access to services and only to individuals I deem incredibly safe and I know well.”

The parent was particularly concerned about the implication it would be “verified” by the hospital.

She said the request was “threatening” and “feels threatening”.

Additional Parent Expresses Worries

Sally* said she was unwilling revealing the medical history of her seven-year-old gender-diverse child.

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

“To think that that information could inadvertently be leaked someday, in any manner, you know, even if that was accidental, could be deeply, deeply distressing to them.”

She responded saying the agency had requested an “extraordinary amount of information”.

“I wouldn’t provide that information to any other organisation that requested it, especially in the climate of the present environment,” she said.

“It’s such highly confidential stuff. You would not reveal, for instance, your medical condition to the minister’s office, you know. You’d be very reluctant and very cautious to provide such details to a bunch of bureaucrats, essentially.”

Legal Service Weighing Second Lawsuit

The advocacy organization, which represented the mother in her challenge, was considering a new legal action, it said last week.

The head, Ren Shike, said the decision had affected about hundreds of minors and their relatives and it was crucial to efficiently facilitate the provision of reasons so that children and their guardians can understand the reasoning behind this ruling, which has had such a devastating impact on their access to healthcare”.

Authorities Stance on Ban

The government has consistently said the ban would stay enforced until a review into trans healthcare had been completed.