Families with transgender children are meeting with politicians in Canberra to ask for changes to the laws that govern young people's access to hormone treatment.

Key points: Children must apply to the Family Court of Australia for stage-two of treatment involving gender-changing hormones

Children must apply to the Family Court of Australia for stage-two of treatment involving gender-changing hormones Must show "Gillick competence", a test used to decide if a child under 16 is able to consent to their own medical treatment

Must show "Gillick competence", a test used to decide if a child under 16 is able to consent to their own medical treatment Families in Canberra to speak with politicians about changes to laws so courts do not need to be involved

Isabelle, 12, will be among them, with her mother Naomi McNamara.

Although born with the physical characteristics of a boy, Isabelle told ABC 666 Canberra she first knew she was different at the age of five.

"I didn't really tell anyone about it for years, until eventually it just got very bottled up ... I said to my mum 'Mummy I don't feel like a boy, I'm not comfortable in this body, I'm not in the right body'," she said.

Ms McNamara said the statement itself came out of the blue.

"I wasn't quite expecting that ... Isabelle has always shown a preference for dolls and pink and mermaids and all of those sorts of things," she said.

"And that was fine. She was able to like what she wanted to like in our family ... We didn't really have those strong kind of gender boundaries I suppose, or roles.

"But it did take us a little while to process."

Ms McNamara said she and her husband spent a lot of time discussing what to do next, trying to work out what was the best thing to keep her safe.

"We're from a very small country town and it was hard to even conceive how you could go from having a child presenting as boy, to having a child presenting as a girl," she said.

"It was just some massive river that we had to cross and it took us a little while to figure out how to do that.

"But with good support from a range of services — we've got an amazing community and an amazing school — it went very, very well for us."

Today Isabelle and her mother joined politicians at morning tea, to discuss legislative reform to allow children to access stage two cross-hormonal treatment, without having to go to the Family Court, which is the current procedure.

The legal process can cost in excess of $30,000 and can be both emotionally and physically challenging for those involved.

Why does the court need to be involved?

Sarah McFadyen is another mother who will be at Parliament House today.

She will be speaking with politicians, in the hope that her seven-year-old son will not have to go to court to begin stage two hormone treatment, when the time comes.

Sarah McFadyen with her seven-year-old son Jack. ( Supplied )

Ms McFadyen said Jack, who was born with the physical traits of a girl, began showing signs of what is known in the medical profession as gender dysphoria, at the age of two.

"At two and a half he decided that it would be a great idea to get some safety scissors, thank god those things can't cut much, and try to cut off his privates," she said.

"Because to a two-and-a-half-year-old, if you don't like something, you just get rid of it.

"As an adult we see that a lot more seriously. He explained to us that ... 'I don't have the right parts, I want to be a boy, and boys don't have [these] parts'.

"After that we sought guidance from the Royal Children's Hospital [Melbourne] and through them and through some other organisations such as the Safe Schools Coalition, we decided that it was in his best interests to allow him to express himself, [to] allow him to transition at school and socially."

Ms McNamara explained the stage one treatment for children transitioning in genders involved hormone blockers, which delayed the onset of puberty.

"And so for someone like Isabelle it delays the onset of male puberty ... it buys some time. It allows kids and young people to really have a think what they might need," she said.

Stage one does not require court involvement, although in the past it did.

Stage two, which typically happens at about age 16, is cross-hormone therapy.

"[This] will allow them to develop [physically] in line with their gender identity," Ms McNamara said.

Ms McFadyen said it was at this point the courts become involved, in cases where the person seeking treatment is under 18.

"You have to one, prove that your child passes Gillick competency," she said.

"[This] basically means that the child, usually at around 16 years of age, has to prove to the doctors as well as the court, that they understand the stage two cross hormonal treatment, its risk factors, what it's going to do for them.

"There has to be medical reports stating that this patient needs this treatment.

"With all that consent, parental consent, child consent, medical profession consent, we still have to go to the Family Court to petition for permission for the treatment, and with that comes ... a nice $30,000 bill."

'Not a lot of choice for someone like Isabelle'

Ms McNamara said she would be asking parliamentarians why the courts needed to be involved at all.

"Our view is, and the view of many parents of transgender and gender diverse young people, is that they shouldn't be involved," she said.

"And certainly, that is also the view of many legal experts and medical experts as well.

"The Family Court, to our knowledge, hasn't ever refuted a medical expert opinion in the case of somebody wanting to access stage two.

"So it is a very expensive rubber stamp process."

When asked why a child could not wait until they were an adult to make a choice about their gender, Ms McNamara explained it was not that simple.

"I think when we say it's a choice, it kind of suggests that it's nice to have," she said.

"This is not really nice to have for a lot of kids. This is not something they want, this is something they need. This is addressing a really big issue, a medical issue for them.

"I think that ... when people are really aware of the fact that it is less of a choice, and more of a lifesaving treatment — and it can be lifesaving in many cases — it sheds a different light on it.

"I think people don't really appreciate that there isn't a lot of choice here for someone like Isabelle ... she's a girl. She was actually born a girl.

"She was born with physical characteristics that don't necessarily match that identity and that needs to be addressed.

"And the longer we prolong access to treatment that will assist her, the more distressed and delayed her own development [will be]. And that's not fair."