Re: Ryan

In the matter of *Re: Ryan*, Austin J of the Supreme Court of New South Wales was required to determine the capacity of a child, born in 2002 and formerly known as B, to consent to medical treatment for Gender Dysphoria. The proceedings concerned the administration of Phase 1 and Phase 2 treatments for this condition.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the child was competent to provide informed consent to the proposed medical treatments. This involved an assessment of the child's maturity, understanding, and capacity to make such a decision independently.

Austin J reasoned that the child possessed the necessary capacity to consent to the administration of Phase 1 and Phase 2 treatment for Gender Dysphoria. The Court applied principles relating to the capacity of minors to consent to medical treatment, considering the child's age and understanding of the proposed treatments and their implications. The Court also made orders to protect the child's privacy, including prohibiting the publication of identifying information and restricting access to court documents.

The Court declared that the child is competent to consent to the administration of Phase 1 and Phase 2 treatment for Gender Dysphoria. Further orders were made to ensure the child's anonymity and to permit the publication of anonymised reasons for judgment. Leave was also granted for the applicant and the child to publish non-anonymised copies of the orders and reasons to the child's treating medical practitioners, to the extent not otherwise authorised by the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). All other outstanding applications were dismissed.