Project 491
Project 491 is an initiative led by AusPATH in response to the Queensland Government’s restriction on gender affirming care (GAC) for trans and gender diverse (TGD) children.
QLD has stopped access to both stage one (puberty blockers) and stage two (hormone therapy) treatments for patients under 18 in the QLD public health system. This decision has left at least 491 children stranded without access to care.
The Queensland stoppage remains contrary to the current best evidence-based guidelines, and represents a worrying interference in essential healthcare.
While private healthcare providers can still offer care,lower-income families and those young people with more complex health needs are being disproportionately affected.
AusPATH continues to raised, in collaboration with care providers in Queensland and across Australia, to establish multi-disciplinary pathways to ensure affected young people receive timely, evidence-based care.
Project 491 – Your impact, six months on
Dear 491 Donors,
When we launched Project 491 in March, our goal was simple and urgent: to support families who suddenly found themselves excluded from gender affirming care in Queensland’s public health system. Earlier this year, the Queensland Government imposed an arbitrary cut-off date for young people who had not yet received clearance from their multidisciplinary team to begin gender affirming hormones — or most critically, puberty blockers. Those who missed that deadline were locked out of essential, time-sensitive care.
Because of your generosity, we have been able to support more than 20 families who would otherwise have faced that situation alone. That means 20 young people now have a pathway through transition, should the state government continue to restrict public healthcare access in Queensland after November. Your support has given them continuity, safety, and the chance to thrive in an environment where services remain under threat.
Project 491 is the first initiative of its kind in Australia. It has required careful, deliberate steps to build a model of sustained support, because when we commit to a family, we do so knowing that the journey often extends across the critical years of a young trans person’s transition. Australia remains one of the few countries where anti-trans rhetoric has not led to widespread restrictions on care — but Queensland is the exception. Doctors are being targeted, gender services are under relentless scrutiny, and organisations like AusPATH are facing coordinated attacks. In that environment, the existence of Project 491 sends a powerful message: trans young people deserve care, their lives matter, and our community will step up when governments and systems fail them.
The impact of your support is clear in the words of the families themselves:
“After a few hours of phone calls, I was able to share the good news with my daughter. ‘Guess what.’ Her eyes already beginning to pool, unsure of unexpected announcements. ‘What?’ she responded. ‘Don’t get too excited, but…’ I shared the good news, and she cried again. Thank you! We are truly grateful for the beautiful, loving and supportive community we have around us.”
“We did not have the means to pay for ongoing care… The guilt we felt was overwhelming. We could never thank everyone enough. It will literally change our young person’s life. Tomorrow is his birthday, and we have the medicine he needs for his appointment Monday. It’s really happening, and it’s because of everyone reading this.”
“Being able to access immediate care for our young person is literally life changing… I have NEVER seen or heard A speak so positively about life and the future. After our initial session with the doctor they said, ‘I am genuinely excited for the future and where life might go.’ This is a complete turnaround from the person who told me only early this year they would rather be dead.”
“The last three months have been amazing for our young person. He is doing great at school, good friends and his first ‘A’… We can’t thank you enough for making all this possible or ever know how deeply it impacts all of us.”
“To have been given financial support from this project has meant the world to us. Not just in a financial sense but emotionally as well. Knowing there are kind people out there sympathetic to the needs of these vulnerable children has given me so much hope.”
These stories are why Project 491 exists. Every donation has not just been financial support; but a lifeline, a promise of care, and a source of hope for families facing impossible choices.
We are also asking for families and community members in Queensland to help us tell the true story of the life-changing impact of gender affirming care. If you or someone you know has been affected, please take part in AusPATH’s Our Voices Matter Survey. Your stories will help us show what’s at stake and advocate for the care our communities deserve. On behalf of all the families, thank you for making this possible.
Make a donation
Your donation will assist affected young people to receive timely, evidence-based care.
PROJECT 491 APPLICATION
Download Application Here:
If you are a family in Queensland affected by the stoppage of access to public gender affirming care, you may be eligible for support through Project 491. This fund has been created to help cover the costs of puberty blockers and gender affirming hormone therapy through the private system for those experiencing financial hardship.
You’ll find the application form for the hardship fund available to download above. Please read the instructions carefully. Applications must be submitted with support from a treating doctor, confirming both the need for care and your financial hardship.
With care,
Eloise Brook
CEO, AusPATH
| 491 Family # | Their Stories |
| 1 | She was in tears again… The second time in so many weeks. The first came after the Health Directive announcement. 7 days away from flying to Brisbane for her first injection. I was trying to fix the situation, come up with solutions in the moment. In fight mode! Then I realised I hadn’t checked in with my daughter. ‘I’m sorry this has happened to you. Are you ok?” I put my arms around her and she began to sob right into my heart. Fast forward a month or so. I reached out to the community in search of answers, a way for my daughter to begin her physical gender affirming journey. And my call was answered. This was my first knowledge of Project 491 and I learned how the community had been rallying and fundraising for us, one of the 491 families. After a few hours of phone calls. I was able to share the good news with my daughter. “Guess what.” Her eyes already beginning to pool, unsure of unexpected announcements. “What?” She responded. “Don’t get to excited, but…” I shared the good news and she cried again. Thank you! We are truly grateful for the beautiful, loving and supportive community we have around us. It goes to show how strong we are united and how a support system around our children, gives them a place to shed their tears, be loved and be authentically them. |
| 2 | Our family can’t thank you enough for helping us at this time. Our heart broke for our little person who was due to start blockers in the first weeks of March only to be denied after the health directive in February through the public system. We didn’t tell them how scared we were, about what that meant and truly panicked about what we were going to do next. Thank goodness he has a psychologist who helped us navigate what the next steps were, as all I could do was cry and have panic attacks about what this could mean to him, I thought at one stage that if I wasn’t alive my husband could use my super to pay for it. We did not have the means to pay for their ongoing care with all the extra supports we needed to pay for privately and the blockers on top of it all. The guilt we felt that we had come so far, moved interstate, waited so long to get into the clinic, become a patient, have all the tests, meet criteria, to be so close but so far away, only to not have the money at such a crucial moment in time of losing that public health support and have no options other than private. We could never thank everyone enough, it will literally change our little persons life. Tomorrow is his birthday and we have the medicine they need for their appointment Monday. It’s really happening and it’s because of everyone reading this. Update 1 I hope you are well. We are going well. #2 is still doing great at school and in a fortnight will be the first trans kid in QLD to go on a school camp. The school inclusion team, with the year coordinator, welfare office and principal met with us a few weeks ago to chat about it as they were in consultation with the Department of Education. It was such a safe and open space where they came up with accommodations. Even the camp had to make steps as they didn’t have an all-ability bathroom. At the end of the meeting they smiled and shook our hands (very formal) and said “oh there will be no cost to you” and “I said I don’t even know your hourly rate, how much would you have charged us for this meeting?” and they laughed, they meant #2 getting their own teachers room at the camp. I thought they meant for the meeting. Update 2 We just wanted to start off by saying thank you so much. The last three months have been amazing for our young person. He is doing great at school, good friends and his first A, mentally and physically too. Still seeing our Doctor, engaged with the community, playing sports and a really good kid all round. He is so happy and that helps my mental health and the other kids because we know he’s ok. I can be a better sister, friend, daughter, wife and employee because he’s ok. We can’t thank you enough again to Project 491 for making all this possible for us or ever knowing how much it deeply impacts all of us. |
| 3 | I would also like to write to say how grateful I am to have the support from Project 491. We are a single parent family and my son as complex medical needs which include gender dysphoria. He requires a lot of medical treatment and the cost is crippling. To have been given financial support from this project has meant the world to us. Not just in a financial sense but emotionally as well. Knowing there are kind people out there sympathetic to the needs of these vulnerable children, has given me so much hope. It has helped ease the anxiety of all of us as we travelling on this journey. |
| 5 | When the government changes meant our son could no longer receive care through the gender clinic at Brisbane Children’s Hospital, we suddenly faced the prospect of losing his treatment just a week before he was due to start puberty blockers. It was an incredibly distressing time for our family. Thankfully, a private clinic in Brisbane took him in at short notice, but the private costs were significant and difficult to manage, especially with the current cost of living. Being approved for support through Project 491 has made an enormous difference. It’s taken away such a heavy financial burden and allowed us to focus on our son’s wellbeing without added stress. We are so deeply grateful for this assistance and for the compassion and understanding behind it. |
| 9 | Firstly, THANK YOU so much again to you and the AusPATH team for assisting our family. Being able to access immediate care for #9 is literally life changing…Even though #9 was put on the waitlist as a category 2 patient through the Queensland Children’s Hospital Gender Service and supposed to have a consult within 90 days from date off acceptance, we are now more than 120+days after being accepted onto that waitlist and from what I understand will not even be close to seeing anyone through the public system before the start of 2026 if we are lucky. This of course is without even considering the impact of changes made by the Qld government and access to treatments through public health. We had no choice but to seek immediate private care for #9 with a private clinic when it became available. The change in #9 mental health and overall demeanour since connecting with the private clinic and even just talking through options for care and understanding gender dysphoria more has been overwhelmingly positive. #9’s engagement in all areas of life and outlook for the future is bright and positive. I have NEVER seen or heard #9 speak so positively about life and the future… After our initial session with the clinic, #9 got into the car and said, ‘I am genuinely excited for the future and where life might go’. This is a complete turnaround from the person who told me only early this year they would rather be dead than feel how they were feeling. The treatment we can now access immediately and over the next 12 months with this funding is life changing beyond words and we’ve only just begun. Thank you. |
| 12 | We were devastated when the ban on the public provision of gender affirming care was announced in January 2025, just weeks before #12 was to have commenced her treatment at the Children’s Hospital. We are grateful to have secured treatment in the private sector, but it is very expensive, particularly for a single mum. The generous funding we have received allows us to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing #12 can have the treatment she needs to become the person she has always wanted to be. |
| 14 | Thank you for your support and encouragement. We ordered the first injection this afternoon and we have our appointment for it with the nurse and our GP on Tuesday! #14 wanted me to extend his gratitude. He keeps saying “Thank you, thank you.” We are blown away that we have your support. We are a family who has fought many battles without a support network and to be honest, we have come to expect everything to be hard. When the Queensland government ripped this vital care from underneath vulnerable families the feeling was shock, then anger and then complete doom. #14 and I attended the first big protest outside Parliament house in Brisbane alongside many other people in the same boat as us. It was very moving and heartbreaking to see the same uncertainty and concern on such a large scale. The hope that day came from people passing around a flyer about Project 491. We do little things to help raise funds to donate like making jewellery and selling it at music events and we support many types of gender affirming mutual aid requests whenever we have spare change. I just didn’t quite realise how it FEELS until we became recipients of this kind of community care. I keep crying…it’s a good kind. And it’s not even about the money. It is so, so much more. It is not feeling hated and tossed aside and alone in what is already a huge, daunting journey that really should be about joy and becoming. Leave out children out of this power grab. Let them live free and safely. So, thank you, endlessly. I know you know what you’re doing here is mending more than broken hearts. It’s the first time my family have felt understood in this way. It is the first time I have been able to look forward without heaviness. Thank you, AusPath. |
| 34 | My daughter came out to me last year, so full of anxiety and fear about sharing this secret part of herself. My daughter is basically the most wonderful kid in the world, so it made no difference to me, but it did mean that we were plunged into a world of research that I was only superficially aware of. As I looked into things more, I began to understand what interventions would be needed to ensure that she grew into a confident, empowered young woman and I realised that our home state of Qld was not going to make it easy. I’m a single mother, and so I was anticipating a future where I might have to exclusively eat ramen for a few weeks a few times a year, but it didn’t matter, and we were going to follow this through properly. At our first appointment with the doctor, we were supported to apply for support with Project 491. I got tears in my eyes knowing that there were people out there who cared about my baby and that they were willing to support her and our family so that we wouldn’t ever have to make sacrifices to ensure that she gets the care and support that she deserves. In this coming week, my daughter will have her first dose of blockers. I am so grateful. Thanks to people who care and support Project 491, my baby is not going to become a statistic. She’s going to grow into a strong woman who knows her worth and feels comfortable in her skin, who will in turn support other trans kids to feel empowered to share who they are and make the world a brighter place. Thank you. |
| 37 | I don’t have words! I am so grateful for everyone donating and will forever be. After the recent changes to the public system, I thought all was lost- that I would lag compared to my AMAB friends. But now I finally have the chance to start Testosterone and feel comfortable in my skin. It means I can start to enjoy things that I have shied away from because of dysphoria, and it also means I can pull the financial weight off my parents’ shoulders. Thank you all so much for what you do for us. I know that I and so many others will be eternally in your debt. |
| 40 | Our family is incredibly grateful to be receiving funding from Project 491 to help cover the costs of essential gender affirming medication and healthcare support. This financial assistance is a massive relief, as without it, we would unfortunately be forced to limit vital appointments. But beyond the financial impact, knowing that we have the backing of people who truly care means the world to our family. Thank you for standing with us. |
| 44 | A year and a half ago, after several years of turmoil, my child came out as transgender. This coincided with a period when the Cairns Sexual Health Clinic, under government direction, stopped providing support and services to transgender clients under the age of 18. Everything was put on hold, and no gender-specific care was available anywhere in the region. We had to wait several months to see a recommended psychologist who could support my child during this difficult time. However, when the appointment finally came, it became clear that the psychologist was not the right fit for my transgender daughter. During this period, my child fell into depression and began self-harming. Desperate to find help, I eventually located the only specialist in the Cairns region with both the expertise and interest in treating gender dysphoria. It took two months to secure an appointment, but in the end, it was worth the wait. She referred us to Gender Health and Project 491 and helped us understand the road ahead. She explained that my child would need multiple appointments with psychologists, psychiatrists, endocrinologists, and GPs, as well as access to costly hormone replacement therapy and, potentially, surgeries in the future. All of this care is provided approximately 1,500 kilometres from where we live, meaning appointments must take place either via telehealth or through regular travel to Brisbane. In addition to the lack of access to specialists in regional Queensland, we are a single-income family consisting of a mother and two teenage children. One child is too young to work, while the other is struggling with anxiety, depression, and gender dysphoria. The financial and logistical challenges are significant. Project 491 is, quite literally, a lifeline. It gives my transgender daughter hope that one day she will feel comfortable in her own skin and be happier than she has ever been. |
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