On Friday, staff at La Trobe University, where the Safe Schools Coalition Victoria is currently headquartered, were shocked to hear their funding would cease from March 2017 when the government will take over running the program.

The Andrews government has been one of the strongest supporters of the LGBTI anti-bullying program, which has come under intense fire from conservative opponents this year.



It has committed to rolling out the program in all Victorian high schools by the end of 2018, and says the change in management will lead to better support.

But community leaders have signalled serious concerns about how the program – which requires significant expertise in sensitive issues, such as helping children to transition gender at school – will fare under the Department of Education.

Education minister James Merlino will meet with advocates from the Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACV), Rainbow Families, Minus18 and other groups on January 18, just under two weeks before the Victorian school term starts on February 1.

"You need nuanced expertise to know how to manage the fact that in December 2016, John finished school, and in February 2017, comes back as Jane," YACV CEO Georgie Ferrari, who will attend the meeting, told BuzzFeed News.

"At the moment, nobody in the department has [that]. I think it's unlikely they'll be able to recruit in a two-month time frame."

Ferrari said the unexpected change could leave transgender students who may have been transitioning over the school holidays without support.



"School holidays are a peak time for transition processes for young people. That's something we're really concerned about," she said.