Child psychiatrist Dr Jillian Spencer says she has been vindicated after Queensland Children’s Hospital withdrew misconduct allegations following her criticism of its gender service’s use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in children and adolescents.

In 2023, Dr Spencer was stood down from clinical duties after a transgender patient reportedly accused her of transphobia. At the time, she was working as a senior staff specialist and was not part of the gender clinic itself.

A long-time critic of gender-affirming care, she had reportedly been raising her concerns internally about the clinic for some time, particularly over the assessments that patients underwent before diagnosis as well as the treatment model.

According to court documents lodged with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission last year, she had at one point added the words “woman – adult human female” to her email signature.