Tom Wark
WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Anthony Albanese has announced that gender-affirming procedures will be funded through Medicare.
OUR VERDICT
False. The claim originates from a parody X account.
AAP FactCheck – Anthony Albanese has not promised to fully fund gender-affirming procedures through Medicare, but this hasn’t stopped social media users falling for the parody post.
Posts sharing the announcement as an authentic policy fail to notice that the original X account is not the prime minister’s official platform but a self-described parody account.
A Facebook post shares the supposed announcement from the prime minister ahead of the May 3 election.
“My government will fully fund gender-affirming procedures via Medicare, the caption said.
“We’re also supporting puberty blockers from preschool and fairness for trans women in women’s sports.”
The post features an image of a pamphlet with the pledge: “It’s time to fund gender-affirming surgery through Medicare”. “Labor & Greens are our only hope.”
The pamphlet in the post is not authorised by a political party or group, as required by legislation, and has a photo of a person who has regularly popped up as a stock image transgender model. The X account in the post, @AlboisPM, labels itself as “Australian Labor Parody”.
The account’s bio section also clearly says “Fake Prime Minister of Australia” and “Unauthorised by Anthony Albanese”.
The original post, which can be traced back to the fake Albo account, clearly shows the full handle, which discloses the account is not that of the real prime minister. As of April 14, 2025, Labor’s Medicare policy also failed to mention gender-affirming surgery or increasing funding for such procedures.
