Queensland Supreme Court Rules That Hormone Therapy Ban Is Unlawful Due to Short Consultations and Political Interference
The Queensland Supreme Court has ruled that the health directive preventing transgender youth from undergoing stage 1 and 2 hormonal therapy is unlawful due to a lack of consultation and political interference.
At 11:08am on January 28, 2025, Queensland Health issued a new health directive preventing patients under 18 years old from being able to undergo hormonal therapies, regardless of whether they were on a waiting list. The directive covers stage 1 (puberty suppressants) and stage 2 (sex hormones) therapies, as defined by the 2025 Queensland Human Rights Commission’s review.
The commission’s review also found that transgender children who have been able to access gender affirming hormones have a better mental wellbeing than those who have not.
A transgender child’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took on Queensland Health in a landmark case to reverse this ban.
Mark Steele KC, representing the mother, says the sticking point for this case was that the Director General of Queensland Health, Dr David Rosengren, pushed for the directive to be published by 10:30am, aligning with Queensland Health Minister’s, Tim Nicholls, announcement the same day.
Testimony from Professor Francis Tracey - who is the Chief Executive of Children’s Health Queensland, indicates there was little to no time given for consultation from Dr Rosengren. The details of the directive were only revealed to the heads of each Hospital and Health Service in a 22-minute Teams meeting, an hour before it was published.
“I had to immediately engage with my senior clinicians, executive director and various clinicians as to how we would respond and reorientate our service to adhere to the new directive.”
Steele and his team say it is this lack of consultation from Dr Rosengren before the directive was issued, as well as underlying political motivations from Minister Nicholls, which make this new directive unlawful.
Outside the court protestors from the group Magandjin People’s Pride gathered with flags and pins to show solidarity for the local mother, and to raise awareness on the harm this ban causes.
Local activist Piper Valkyrie (middle) speaking to the media as protestors from Magandjin People's Pride Gather Outside Queensland Supreme Court to Support Local Mother Taking on the Queensland Governments Hormonal Therapy Ban
Local activist Piper Valkyrie was one of the many gathered outside the supreme court. When asked about the impacts of the ban they spoke of how it prevents real life saving care,
“We are seeing real people be affected by these bans… the toll of waiting is hard for anyone, but to wait so long and then have that healthcare stripped away from you is horrible.”
Inside, Jonathon Horton KC, representing Queensland Health, argued that there was appropriate consultation undertaken prior to implementing this directive. He maintains that Dr Rosengren acted with discretion, rather than being pushed to make this decision at the behest of the health minister.
Caz is a local Brisbane mother to a transgender daughter who came out when she was 18. She knows first-hand the importance of having access to safe, high quality gender affirming care for transgender kids, and how waiting until the child is 18 is at best an inconvenience, and at worst a ‘death sentence’.
“My daughter has a lot of trauma from growing up in the wrong body which could have all been prevented if she had been able to access hormonal therapy before puberty,”
Lea Gabriel is a Youth Advocate and former youth parliamentarian; she is a tireless advocate to help improve the lives of young trans and gender diverse Queenslanders
Image Credit: Filip Markovic
Lea Gabriel is a youth advocate that works for the Queensland Family and Child Commission. As a young trans woman who has worked within the policy space since grade 12 she criticises the Queensland government and the health directive, saying that this directive is not based on healthcare or professional advice, but rather the agenda of the LNP.
“I think it is evidently clear that the current restrictions on gender-affirming care for youth
does not represent best-practice medical care. Rather, it represents the ideological beliefs of
the Liberal-National party.”
Member for Maiwar Michael Berkman says that the decision to remove gender affirming services for young trans Queenslanders completley undermines the expert advice given
Image Credit: Michael Berkman/Queensland Greens
Michael Berkman is the state Member for Maiwar and has criticised the Crisafulli Government for undermining expert advice, which consistently calls for the expansion of gender affirming services. He reiterates these decisions should be based on the health advice, not political agendas.
“The LNP needs to learn that healthcare is a choice for an individual, their family and their healthcare team, not for politicians.”
Equality Australia is a national organisation which aims to improve the quality of life for the millions of LGBTQIA+ Australians. Their mission is to create positive legal and social change to ensure LGBTQIA+ people are treated equally and with dignity and respect.
Image Credit: Equality Australia/Facebook
Equality Australia is a national organisation aiming to help improve the lives of the millions of LGBTQIA+ Australians. Their Legal Director, Heather Corkhill agrees with Berkman, saying that the governments decision flies in the face of all the evidence which consistently reiterates gender affirming care is safe and based on solid evidence.
“The government’s decision flies in the face of expert medical advice, Queensland’s own human rights laws, and the findings of the state’s independent review, which confirmed gender-affirming care is safe and based on solid evidence,”
On the October 28, 2025, the ban was overturned by the Supreme Court with Judge Peter Callaghan ruling in the favour of the mother. Activists say that the fight for equality isn’t over but that this news is a huge and positive first step for young trans people in Queensland.
Note: Just hours after the ban was overturned Tim Nicholls used his ministerial powers to reimplement the directive, with Nicholls saying that the ban would remain in place until the Government considered the findings in an ongoing review.
