MELBOURNE: A 12-year-old Australian girl has been allowed by a court to begin the process of a sex change, despite objections from her father who said the child was too young to make the decision.



A hormone treatment was initiated on the unnamed girl, as the first step towards a complete gender switch after the court pronounced the order on an application filed by her mother, the Sunday Herald-Sun reported on Sunday.



The court also permitted the girl to obtain a new birth certificate, passport and medicare card in a boy's name.



Besides the mother, a state government observer, an endocrinologist, a psychiatrist, a family counsellor and a lawyer had supported the child's decision in the application.



However, her father, who did not attend the final court hearing, opposed the proposed gender swap, refusing to accept that his daughter had always seen herself as a boy.



He also considered the child too young to make the decision, the court was told.



But the child's lawyer held that the girl was capable of making an informed decision.



The girl is one of the youngest patients in Australia to be granted permission to begin a sex change treatment.



The hormone treatment, which was initiated on the child to prevent her from starting her menstrual cycle was reversible, the court was told, and would give the family "breathing time" before the final phase of the therapy was implemented.



A further court application will be needed before the testosterone treatment begins to deepen her voice and promote growth of facial hair and muscles, the newspaper said.



Further surgeries on the child would have to wait until she is at least 18.