The first annual report of the ACT's VSC Restricted Medical Treatment Assessment Board

We welcome publication of the first annual report of the Australian Capital Territory's (ACT) Variations in Sex Characteristics Restricted Medical Treatment Assessment Board (RMTA Board). The annual report is on pages 392-398 of the ACT Health Directorate Annual Report.

The RMTA Board annual report offers an unparalleled public disclosure of information on medical interventions on children with innate variations of sex characteristics. These interventions are often based on law quality evidence but have lifelong implications for health, wellbeing, personal agency and identity development. The information is presented in a manner that protects the privacy of the individuals who are the subject of treatment proposals, and their families.

We congratulate the ACT Government and the Board for publication of this material.

We note that no information was reported on hypospadias surgeries. While such surgeries are sadly excluded from the scope of the ACT's legislation absent co-occurring traits, the legislation requires that surgeries are reported to the RMTA Board. We express our deepest concern at the absence of such reporting, which we believe is possible due to an absence of effective penalties for non-reporting. Victoria's legislation, enacted earlier this year, contains no exclusion for hypospadias.

A criminal penalty applies to medical interventions that are within scope and performed without Board approval. We expect that the small number of interventions where approval was sought is a reflection of the small size of the jurisdiction and the importance of the legislation in suppressing medical interventions that can safely be deferred until individuals can express their own values and preferences for treatment.

Thank you to all Board members, the Board secretariat, and the ACT Government for providing this service.

Read the report

ACT Health Directorate. “Annual Report 2024–25,” 2025. https://www.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/2930417/ACT-Health-Annual-Report-2024-2025.pdf

An extract of the report, including the front two pages and the RMTA Board report, is shared below.

Statement of competing interests

Please note that the following people involved in InterAction are members of the RMTA Board: executive director Dr Morgan Carpenter and board member Simone-Lisa Anderson.