Basics

• Entity type: Corporation; not-for-profit
  • Place incorporated: unknown, New South Wales, Australia
  • Date incorporated: 9 October 1946¹
  • Place now registered: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • Australian Business Number: 68 000 439 047
• Area of operations:
  • Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Australia
• Website: ranzcp.org

Description

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) is the peak professional body for psychiatrists in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The RANZCP is analogous to the United States’ American Psychiatric Association, or the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Subsidiary bodies

The RANZCP administers or controls the following entities:

• Australasian Psychiatry, a journal
• the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, a journal

Timeline

1946, October 9. The Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists is established.

2020, May 29. Australasian Psychiatry publishes an article, “Informed consent and childhood gender dysphoria: emerging complexities in diagnosis and treatment,” by Juan Carlos d’Abrera et al. (2020).

Of the 5 authors:

• 1, Roberto D’Angelo, is an affiliate of the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine (SEGM);
• at least 2, Shirley Prager and Philip Morris, are affiliates of the National Association of Practising Psychiatrists (NAPP).

2021, August. The RANZCP adopts Position Statement #103, “Recognising and addressing the mental health needs of people experiencing Gender Dysphoria / Gender Incongruence”.

2021, September. The RANZCP adopts a slight revision of PS #103 (RANZCP Practice, Policy and Partnerships Committee, 2021).

2022, July 10. The Australia & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry publishes an editorial, “Re: The RANZCP position statement on gender dysphoria,” by Sav Zwickl et al. (2022), regarding the August 2021 revision of PS #103.

Of the 14 authors of the editorial, 7 are members of the Board of Directors of the Australian Professional Association for Transgender Health; 6 are members of the Executive Committee of the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa. They write, in brief, as follows:

• “we are deeply concerned by the updated RANZCP Position Statement 103”;
• “We consider the approach taken by RANZCP to trans people as inappropriate and harmful”;
• “the recent RANZCP position statement frames the trans experience as inherently pathological … in direct conflict with World Health Organization, American Psychiatric Association, World Professional Association for Transgender Health, AusPATH and PATHA, all of whom make it clear that being trans is not a pathology”;
• “Through selectively citing research and treatment guidelines, the position statement equates peer-reviewed evidence with ‘professional opinion’ and the notion of supporting trans people as a ‘debate’. Important research … [is] notably missing from the position statement”
• “The position statement completely neglects to acknowledge that high rates of mental distress and suicidality in trans populations are largely attributable to external factors”
• “The pathologisation of trans people by the RANZCP further promotes stigma”
• “the RANZCP position runs directly counter to the well-established evidence base that gender affirmation improves health outcomes and strengthens quality of life”

Footnotes

1 — Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (n.d.).

References

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (n.d.). The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists [Charity details]. Australian Department of the Treasury; Archive Today. Retrieved 3 April 2024.

d’Abrera, J.C., D’Angelo, R., Halasz, G., Prager, S., & Morris, P. (2020, May 29). Informed consent and childhood gender dysphoria: emerging complexities in diagnosis and treatment. Australasian Psychiatry, 28(5), 536–538. doi: 10.1177/1039856220928863. Retrieved 3 April 2024.

RANZCP Practice, Policy and Partnerships Committee (2021, September). Recognising and addressing the mental health needs of people experiencing gender dysphoria / gender incongruence — Position statement 103. Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists; Internet Archive. Retrieved 3 April 2024.

Zwickl, S., Chaplin, B., Bisshop, F., Cook, T., Soo, C.T.M., … & Lin, A. (2022, July 10). Re: The RANZCP position statement on gender dysphoria. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 56(10), 1217–1218. doi: 10.1177/00048674221112007. Retrieved 3 April 2024.

Article metadata

• Revision: #1 (3 April 2024).
• Created: 3 April 2024.