Mr. Gerry Hone:

We are into a difficult area of practice, as the Senator will appreciate. When we come across this type of situation around sexuality, gender and transgender, as was pointed out before our systems are designed to do a full assessment of need of young people, hear their voices and listen to their voices. When we come across those types of issues, those young people are supported to explore those issues, to develop and to get the services they require. As the Senator knows, services in this area are extremely limited. She spoke about the centre that closed down. There is a need for further services out there for that cohort of young people and to acknowledge the difficulty for parents here when they have a young person who might be coming out as transgender or whatever sexuality. That can be very difficult for parents to hear, understand and appreciate.