Sexual health information for young people

It's never too early to start talking with your children about relationships and sexual matters. Children whose parents easily communicate with them about sexuality and receive good relationships and sexuality education at school are more likely to:

• delay their first experience of sexual intercourse and sexual relationships
• less likely to have an unplanned pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection.

Relationships and sexuality

For information about relationships and sexuality education, teenage pregnancy, general sexual health and sexuality for young people, please visit the following websites:

• Family Planning Tasmania – clinical and education services around sexual and reproductive health for people at all stages of life
• Women’s Health Tasmania – provides the women of Tasmania, including young women, a safe and comfortable place where they can seek support and information.
• Working It Out – provides support and advocacy services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) Tasmanians and education and training programmes to schools, workplaces, and organisations
• Youth Network of Tasmania (YNOT) – works to improve young people’s access to health and wellbeing services in Tasmania.
• Healthy Young People – a free online resource for secondary school students, teachers and school staff, youth workers, social workers and anyone who works with young people.

Communicating with your child

• Good communication is a two-way discussion rather than a lecture or 'one big talk'.
• Talk soon. Talk often offers free resources to help you talk with your children about growing up.
• It provides information appropriate for each developmental stage.

Download the Talk soon. Talk often. booklet

Download the Talk soon. Talk often. tip sheet

Gender health for under 18s

• Ideas around gender can be very complex.
• There is a huge range of diversity in how people feel about and express their gender.
• Both young people and their families can experience some challenges in this process.
• It is important to try to adopt a whole family approach.
• You can learn more about gender health services on our LGBTIQ+ health page

Where to get Gender support for people aged from 17 years

If you’re aged 17 and above, you can get help by calling:

• Clinic 60 Hobart – phone: 03 6166 2672
• Clinic 34 Launceston – phone: 03 6777 1371