Family First opposes taxpayer funding for so-called “gender-affirming” surgeries.

“It is impossible to change sex or gender and taxpayers should not be forced to pay for those who think they can,” said National Director Lyle Shelton.

The Albanese government appears to be moving on its policy of allowing sex change operations to be covered by Medicare.

While its policy supports taxpayer-funded sex change operations for “young people”, the Health Department will only consider an application for Medicare funding to apply for 18-50 year-olds.

This week’s Nine newspapers described the surgeries in Orwellian language.

The procedures pitched for Medicare coverage include feminising chest surgery, which may involve inserting prosthetics or fat grafts, and masculinising chest surgery, which may or may not require repositioning nipples.

There are also proposed Medicare items for genital reconfiguration surgery, which could involve removing genitals or constructing a neo-penis or neo-vagina, as well as feminising or masculinising facial surgery and voice surgery.

Decoded, this means surgically removing healthy breasts, castrating men and constructing fake penises and vaginas using tissue taken from other parts of the body.

Given that Labor and the so-called “moderate” wing of the Liberal party believe this sort of surgery should also be available to children, Mr Shelton said it was only a matter of time before the goal-posts were moved.

“It remains a scandal that Australia’s child gender clinics continue to chemically castrate children using puberty blockers and cross sex hormones and even surgery in some cases,” Mr Shelton said.

Family First has long called for the closure of child gender clinics, particularly given that the UK closed the disgraced Tavistock centre in London and several countries were no longer trying to convert children’s gender.