Accessing gender-affirming healthcare
Our health and counselling (Mauri Ora) teams can provide advice and support for gender-affirming healthcare.
Mauri Ora recognise you are the expert around your own gender identity journey and will work alongside you to establish your health goals, including goals you have around transitioning.
We can provide support, advice and access to other services as needed. These include hormone care, fertility advice, physiotherapy, surgery and mental health.
Our Health services are available to any student currently enrolled at Victoria University of Wellington, who are also registered with Mauri Ora.
Counselling services are free of charge if you are a domestic student, but there may be a charge if you are an international student, check your insurance policy for confirmation.
General healthcare and prescriptions
If you are wanting general support and advice or have medical needs, feel free to see your GP or nurse. This includes requests for ongoing prescriptions of hormone medications you are already taking.
Starting gender-affirming hormone therapy for the first time
At Mauri Ora we have an experienced gender affirming healthcare team who look forward to supporting you with your health needs. Our team is made up of counsellors, GPs and a nurse. We have close links with external providers such as community groups, endocrinologists, psychologists, surgeons and allied health providers.
We view you as the expert in your identity and recognise that everyone has very individual needs. We aim to listen to your health needs, and work with you to access the care and support that is right for you. We always work within our clinical scope and knowledge to ensure a safe practice. This includes following national and international best practice guidelines.
Before starting hormones, we take time to get to know you and your individual needs. We will ensure you have the information you need to make decisions about your healthcare that are right for you. We use an informed consent approach and include non-binary identities.
There is no set time frame for how long this takes as it depends on individual needs and our appointment availability. We may need to refer you to healthcare providers outside of Mauri Ora and this can add further time.
We encourage you to see your named enrolled GP for your general medical care which includes screening, sexual health and immunisations.
Other support options
Our health team works closely with counsellors Anny da Silva Freitas (they/them/she/her) and Mary Allen (she/her) who have or are working towards accredited GSRD specialist training in this area.
Other services we can refer you to include: support groups, gender affirming physiotherapy, voice therapy, peer support, mental health services and surgical care.
Make an appointment with Mauri Ora
- The Rainbow and Inclusion Adviser at Student Academic Services, can connect students with appropriate services and works with our community to ensure the University is a safe and inclusive environment for students of all sexualities, genders and sex characteristics.
- Gender Minorities Aotearoa has a wealth of information, support and resources and is based in Wellington.
- Tranzform is a local Wellington support group for youth who identify as trans or gender diverse.
- OUTLine a free and confidential phone line supporting rainbow people and offering face-to-face counselling.
- RainbowYOUTH provides a number of services for queer and gender diverse youth and their wider communities all across Aotearoa.
- The Physio Spot offers discounted prices for Victoria University of Wellington students and community services card holders. You can also visit a GP at Mauri Ora and enquire about a referral to get these services fully funded.