Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT)
Auckland | Waitematā | Counties Manukau
POAC funds extended primary care consultations for the initiation and ongoing maintenance of Gender-affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT). This funding supports general practice teams to provide this care directly, without a routine secondary care referral, for eligible patients.
Who is eligible — Funding Criteria
Eligibility at a glance
- Patients must be 18 years and over.
- Maximum claimable: one initiation consultation, plus up to four follow-up (maintenance) consultations within the first 12 months of initiation.
- Funding is available to all practices within the Auckland Metro Region — Te Toka Tumai Auckland, Counties Manukau, and Waitematā districts.
- Initiation is considered the first GAHT appointment, or reinstatement of GAHT at clinical discretion.
- GAHT must be initiated in general practice for follow-up appointments to remain claimable.
- A patient co-payment may be charged at the practice's discretion.
- Patients must be eligible for publicly funded health services in New Zealand, as per Te Whatu Ora eligibility criteria.
- Patients can be enrolled or casual.
Services covered
- Initiation consultation — with hormone therapy commenced An extended consultation where GAHT is initiated. Claimable once per patient.
- Initiation consultation — assessment only, therapy not commenced An extended consultation to assess suitability for GAHT where treatment is not started at that visit.
- Follow-up (maintenance) consultation — with hormone therapy An extended consultation to review and continue established GAHT. Up to four claimable within 12 months of initiation.
- Follow-up (maintenance) consultation — review, therapy not adjusted An extended consultation for ongoing review where hormone therapy is not changed at that visit. Counts toward the four-visit annual maximum.
Full consult rates are listed in the POAC Claiming Schedule.
Funding and competency
Funding can be claimed by General Practitioners and Nurse Practitioners who are confident in their competency to initiate GAHT in primary care without a routine secondary care referral, following the Primary Care Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy Guidelines. Clinicians who would like support can contact Hauora Tāhine – Pathways to Transgender Healthcare Services.
For training, register interest via Qtopia: Primary Care Training — qtopia.org.nz.
POAC claiming
- Claiming is via the POAC PMS claiming portal.
- Submit a 'New Referral' using the date of the initial consultation and select the code 'Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy.' Only one referral is required — all subsequent invoices are submitted under the original case number.
- Following each consultation, submit an invoice via the claiming portal and select the appropriate consult option from the services listed above.
- Clinicians are encouraged to refer to the Gender Diversity and Transgender Health Pathway.
- View the full POAC Claiming Schedule ↗
Contact
Auckland PHO administers the Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy in Primary Care Programme on behalf of the Northern Region PHO Collaborative. Auckland PHO is not able to provide clinical or referral advice. For clinical advice or referral decisions, please contact the relevant hospital service or specialty directly. Guidance on appropriate referral pathways and criteria can be found in HealthPathways, where applicable.
All POAC referrals and claims are subject to the applicable terms and conditions of use.