Australia is the only country in the world that requires transgender teenagers to apply to a Family Court before they can start taking cross-sex hormones.



In NSW, many of the families seeking this treatment access pro bono legal help through the Inner City Legal Centre (ICLC). Currently, the centre has 19 cases open.

However, faced with a funding cut and a growing client list, the centre has started a crowdfunding campaign so it can continue to take on new cases.

Solicitor Hilary Kincaid, who has represented several parents of transgender children through the ICLC, told BuzzFeed News there has been a "marked increase in demand" in 2016.



“At the moment, we don’t turn anyone away," she said. "I open a new file for anyone who asks. But that can’t last."

Centre director Vicki Harding said the need for legal help has grown with increasing awareness and acceptance of transgender children.

"When there was quite a bit of interest in the mainstream media recently, we started getting three to four calls from families each week," she said.

"We tell them what they need to do. They need to organise specialist reports, get affidavits. We work with them on all that detail of the application.



"The amazing thing for families is that we do this free of charge, and if they opted for a private solicitor, they would pay thousands to go through this process."

Kincaid estimates the cost of going through the application with a private solicitor is around $15,000.