This is the message from the transgender community, who are calling on the Victorian government to give them a timeline on when elective surgeries can resume.

The state imposed a temporary ban on elective surgeries on January 6 to help the health system cope with COVID hospitalisations.

However, patients are calling for greater confirmation on what elective surgeries entail, saying some medical treatments cannot wait.

Last week, the state government back-pedalled on pausing IVF treatments as part of the ban, following a change.org petition that amassed more than 130,000 signatures.

However, for the trans community, gathering a similar amount of support is an almost impossible task.

Stigma and misunderstanding of trans identity still runs deep, and the pausing of vital gender affirming surgeries can have devastating mental health effects for trans people.

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Non-binary trans woman Zara Jones said long waiting lists and extensive surgery preparations are already traumatic for trans people - without the added stress of the date being changed.

"There's so much preparation that goes into just even getting the surgery date," she said, "You're on a waiting list, you have to save up incredible amounts of money - these surgeries aren't covered by Medicare.

"So when you have a date to work towards - you've got a goal.

"But in this current situation when elective surgery has been cancelled, the goalposts not only get moved, they get shifted out of sight, so you don't even know what you're aiming for anymore.

"You don't have that positive light to look forward to and work towards, so you're just left in limbo."

Zara said she's worried about young trans kids and what this period of uncertainty will mean for them.

"Not knowing adds to depression and poor mental health."

"Trans people are already 18 times more likely than the general public to have thoughts of suicide, so to have these kinds of challenges to your journey that you work so hard on every day, that can be devastating," she said.

Nonetheless, Zara, who has completed one of her surgeries and is waiting on her second, says the freedom that comes from aligning her body with her mind is well worth the wait.

"My advice to anybody who has been impacted by this is just to hang in there and know that this is temporary," she said.

"This kind of surgery isn't about changing who we are, we know who we are, the surgery is about correcting our bodies which have developed incorrectly.

"To be free of that conflict changed my life, it's been twelve months since my first surgery and not only do I notice it but the people around me notice it too.

"They comment all the time that I'm such a different person, I'm more confident, my self esteem has improved, my relationships have improved, all because I don't have that weight of conflict anymore."

In an effort to combat the stigma and start educating her community, Zara created Trans and Gender Diverse Bendigo and Beyond - a monthly support group for trans and gender diverse people, as well as allies - and she's encouraging other trans people to reach out during this period.

The trans community are calling on the state government to give them a date they can work towards.

"When I got the date for my top surgery, all of a sudden the dysphoria I was experiencing was reduced because I knew now that this was only a short term issue, and that I was going to have my body repaired in due time," Zara said.

"Imagine having all of that excitement taken away with no real end in sight - it's devastating.

"We're just trying to be who we truly are - we have to jump through so many barriers already to prove who we inherently know we are - the date is everything."