A screenshot from a Victorian Government website has been circulating on social media recently, claiming government schools can secretly “gender transition” children without parental knowledge or consent.

It’s one of those claims that sound so unbelievably absurd that some have dismissed it as fake news. I mean, how could the state government be so blatantly arrogant to claim more parental authority over a child than that child’s own parents? Surely, this is just some wild rumour or an altered image, or maybe the policy simply wasn’t read correctly. Right?!

I don’t blame the sceptics. It’s difficult to believe that this sort of thing is becoming the new norm in our “post-Christian culture,” but sadly, it is. Now, it might, at best, be sold as co-parenting, but that’s only on the provision that “Daddy Government” gets the final say. In this respect, however, your children no longer belong to you. They’re effectively the property of the state.

That’s the message Victorian Government appears to be sending parents through their LGBTIQ Student Support Policy. The policy requires schools to “work with students affirming their gender identity.” As such, they are to “prepare and implement a student support plan” without necessarily including any involvement from the child’s parents.

According to the Victorian Department of Education, the plan involves adopting the student’s preferred pronouns and ensuring the student has access to the toilets, showers, and change rooms based on their gender identity:

“In preparing the plan, the school should consider… the referencing of and recording of student’s affirmed name, gender identity, and pronouns (he, she, they and so on); the use of toilets, showers and change rooms that meet the needs of the student. This should be based on the student’s gender identity and whichever facilities they will feel most comfortable using. Students without disability should not be required to use disabled toilets or facilities.”

Source: Victorian Department of Education

The policy allows for students to secretly transition without the consent of the child’s parents, or even the involvement of a medical practitioner.

“There may be circumstances in which students wish or need to undertake gender transition without the consent of their parent/s (or carer/s), and/or without consulting medical practitioners.”

The school, not the student’s parents, is then awarded the right to determine whether the child is to be regarded as a “mature minor,” and therefore, able to gender transition without parental consent.

“If no agreement can be reached between the student and the parent/s regarding the student’s gender identity, or if the parent/s will not consent to the contents of a student support plan, it will be necessary for the school to consider whether the student is a mature minor.

“If a student is considered a mature minor they can make decisions for themselves without parental consent and should be affirmed in their gender identity at school without a family representative/carer participating in formulating the school management plan.”

So, what is a “mature minor”? According to the state government’s website, a “mature minor” is anyone under the age of 18 who “principals or others working…in the schools” have decided is capable of making their own decision without the involvement of parents.

“Where a student under the age of 18 asks to make a decision instead of their parent or carer, principals or others working with the student in schools can decide that the student is capable of making their own decision i.e. that they are a mature minor for the purpose of making a particular decision.

“To be considered a mature minor, principals or others working with students must be satisfied that the student has sufficient maturity, understanding and intelligence to understand the nature and effect of their particular decision.”

In short, the final decision to “gender transition” a child does not belong to the child’s parents, but to the state. The final decision as to whether other adults treat a child as a “mature minor,” capable of informed consent and everything that involves, does not belong to the child’s parents, but to the state.

This may be new to some, but it isn’t a new policy. Concerned parents have been warning about this sort of thing for a while. Last year, Kirralee Smith of Binary joined protesters outside of the Victorian Parliament ahead of the election to sound the alarm.

She told Rebel News at the time that children are simply not equipped to comprehend the life-long consequences of these sorts of decisions.

“For Dan Andrews and his government to create this policy where school staff, they’re untrained in these areas, can begin and facilitate the transition of children is dangerous and harmful to these children because there’s not a 2-year-old on Earth that could say to you ‘I don’t want to have sex as an adult’, they don’t know, how would they know?

“If adults don’t take the responsibility and stand up for these children then nobody will and we’ll see people like Dan Andrews think that he can be a better Daddy than their actual parents.”