More than 111,000 people have signed a federal parliamentary petition calling for gender-affirming surgeries to be covered by Medicare.
As of Wednesday afternoon, upwards of 111,600 people had signed the petition, which raises concerns about the costs of the surgery.
The petition has been circulating on social media in recent days.
"Transgender people and other people in need of gender-affirming surgery must pay a lot of money, up to $30,000, so they can finally have their outward appearance match how they truly feel on the inside," the petition says.
"We therefore ask the House to make gender-affirming and gender reassignment services eligible for Medicare benefits, as these surgeries are essential for the mental health and well-being of select people in the LGBTQ+ community."
Through the Medicare insurance system, people are able to access certain health services for free or at a subsidised cost.
The petition warns that without coverage from Medicare people are being excluded from accessing gender affirmation services.
The cost of the procedures can force those seeking such servcies to turn online for financial help.
“Currently, medical gender affirmation in Australia, be it access to puberty suppression, hormones, surgery or post-operative care, can be difficult to find, expensive and fraught with discrimination, stigma and rejection from care,” Teddy Cook, manager of trans and gender diverse health equity at health service ACON,.
