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The state government released confidential information about the mother of a trans teenager – information she says potentially exposed her teen – to a unknown individual.

Accusations of “Bullying” and “Invasion of Privacy”

The disclosure came as the state government was accused of “intimidation” and “an invasion of privacy” after demanding private health records from guardians of transgender children who are contemplating a additional court case to its disputed ban on hormone blockers.

Latest Official Order on Hormone Treatments

Recently, the Queensland health minister, Tim Nicholls, enacted a fresh directive prohibiting the use of puberty blockers for trans individuals, shortly after the state’s supreme court ruled the government’s first attempt was unlawful.

Media has spoken to several parents who have contacted Nicholls for a official paper called a statement of reasons – a formal explanation of why the government decided to prohibit hormone treatments in the region. Legally, the paper must be provided under the legal statute.

Requested Health Information

All four were asked by the health authorities for details of their child’s medical history, including “your child’s name, their birthdate and any supporting documents which supports your child having a clinical diagnosis of gender identity disorder”.

The information were requested before the statement of reasons would be released.

The email, which has been seen by the Guardian, also asked them to “please also confirm if your teen is a client of the youth gender service so that we can confirm the information provided with the health service,” reads the communication, which was dispatched recently.

Mothers Label Request as Breach of Confidentiality

All four mothers described the request as an violation of confidentiality.

A mother said she was reluctant to share the details because the authorities had accidentally sent her data to a another individual.

“It feels like having to ‘out’ your teen to obtain a reply; like, it’s frightening,” she said.

Situation of the Mother

The parent, who must remain anonymous because it would also reveal or “out” her child, was one of several who asked for a statement of reasons both times.

Earlier, the department sent a reply meant for her to someone else, disclosing her name and address – and the fact that she had a trans teen – to a stranger. She said a department official later said sorry by telephone; the media has obtained an email from the agency admitting the error.

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

“My daughter is very reserved. She is deeply afraid of being exposed in any public space. She doesn’t like anyone to be aware that she’s trans,” the mother said.

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

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

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

Other Mother Voices Worries

Sally* said she was unwilling disclosing the health background of her seven-year-old non-binary child.

“It’s not my information, it’s a child’s information,” she said.

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

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

“I would not share that data to any other organisation that requested it, especially in the climate of the present environment,” she said.

“It’s such highly confidential information. You would not reveal, for instance, your medical condition to the minister’s office, you know. You’d be very reluctant and careful to provide any of that information to a group of officials, essentially.”

Legal Service Weighing Second Lawsuit

The LGBTI Legal Service, which represented the parent in her challenge, was evaluating a new legal action, it said recently.

Its president, Ren Shike, said the decision had impacted about 500 Queensland children and their families and it was “important to promptly enable the supply of reasons so that minors and their parents can comprehend the logic behind this decision, which has had such a severe effect on their medical care”.

Government Stance on Ban

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